Dell’s R860 fits four 4th Gen Xeon Scalable sockets and 64 DDR5 slots into 2U. It is built for in-memory databases, ERP and consolidation, not accelerators, which it cannot take. Below are its ten processors, memory rules, all 13 storage layouts, riser options and cooling limits, with notes on where squeezing four sockets into 2U costs something.
2U Rack2 or 4 sockets4th Gen Xeon ScalableiDRAC9
4processor sockets4th Gen Xeon · up to 60 cores each
Our read of Dell’s documentation: where the R860 is strong, and the limits worth knowing before you spec one.
Strengths
+Four sockets and 64 DIMM slots in 2U — up to 240 cores and 16 TB of DDR5 — where Dell’s R960 needs 4U for the same processors and memory.
+Up to 28 drive bays: 24 × 2.5-inch at the front plus four E3.S Gen5 NVMe or two 2.5-inch drives at the rear.
+Eight PCIe Gen5 x16 slots with four processors, plus a Gen4 OCP 3.0 slot and an optional 2 × 1GbE LOM that can be fitted together.
+Dual-controller 24-bay SAS4/SATA layouts, a 24-bay passive NVMe backplane and a 16-bay NVMe RAID option cover hardware-RAID and all-flash designs alike.
+Optional direct liquid cooling lets every listed processor, the 350 W 8490H included, run at 35°C inlet in all of Dell’s storage layouts.
Watch-outs
!No GPU or FPGA support: Dell lists GPU options as N/A, where the R840 took two double-wide GPUs.
!With two processors only riser configuration 0 applies — four PCIe Gen4 x8 slots. Gen5 x16 slots and rear drives need all four sockets populated.
!On air, Dell’s matrix holds the 330 W and 350 W processors to 30°C inlet in every 24-bay layout and allows 35°C in the 8- and 16-bay ones, yet its A2 restriction tables for the NVMe layouts and the 8- and 16-bay 2.5-inch layouts list them as both unsupported and capped at 30°C — ask Dell before relying on them on air.
!Two supplies only, 1+1, with no −48 V DC or 277 V option, and neither the 1800 W nor the 2800 W unit accepts a 100–120 V feed.
!Up to 42.97 kg fully populated — against 27.5 kg for Dell’s two-socket R760xa — so check rail and rack load ratings.
Processors10 SKUs
Cores / CPU8–60
DIMM slots64
Drive layouts13
Max bays28
PSU options5 · to 2,800 W
02 — Processors
10 supported processors, mapped
Ten processors, all 4th Gen Xeon Scalable H-series parts: from the 8-core Gold 6434H at 3.7 GHz to the 60-core Platinum 8490H. The chart plots each by cores and TDP. There is no 5th Gen Xeon option on this model, so the choice is about core count, clock and whether you need 96 GB DIMMs.
Processor landscape — cores × TDP
10 SKUs · 1 family
4th Gen Xeon Scalable 10Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU
Processor explorer
filter · sort · compare
Processor
Cores / threads
Base
L3 cache
TDP
W / core
Memory
Intel Xeon Platinum 8490H
60 / 120
1.9 GHz
113 MB
350 W
5.8
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Platinum 8468H
48 / 96
2.1 GHz
105 MB
330 W
6.9
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Platinum 8460H
40 / 80
2.2 GHz
105 MB
330 W
8.3
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Platinum 8454H
32 / 64
2.1 GHz
83 MB
270 W
8.4
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Gold 6448H
32 / 64
2.4 GHz
60 MB
250 W
7.8
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Platinum 8450H
28 / 56
2 GHz
75 MB
250 W
8.9
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Gold 6418H
24 / 48
2.1 GHz
60 MB
185 W
7.7
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Gold 6416H
18 / 36
2.2 GHz
45 MB
165 W
9.2
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Platinum 8444H
16 / 32
2.9 GHz
45 MB
270 W
16.9
DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon Gold 6434H
8 / 16
3.7 GHz
23 MB
195 W
24.4
DDR5-4800
Dell advises against mixing processor models in a four-socket build.
Only the six Platinum 8400H parts support 96 GB RDIMMs; the Gold 6448H, 6434H, 6418H and 6416H do not.
Heat sinks step up with TDP: standard up to 185 W, L-type high-performance for 195–250 W, L-type very-high-performance from 270 W.
All ten run UPI at 16 GT/s and are listed for 4 TB of memory per processor.
03 — Memory
64 DIMM slots, 16 per processor
Sixty-four DDR5 RDIMM slots, sixteen per processor, for Dell’s stated maximum of 16 TB. Modules run at 4800 MT/s at one DIMM per channel and 4400 MT/s at two, including the 5600-rated parts, whose extra rating goes unused on these processors.
Capacity with every slot filled
by DIMM size
Operating speed
per Dell memory tables
Processor
1 DIMM / channel
2 DIMMs / channel
4th Gen Xeon Scalable (H-series)
4800 MT/s
4400 MT/s
16 TB is 64 × 256 GB. Dell’s A2 restriction tables for the NVMe layouts and the 8- and 16-bay SAS/SATA layouts allow 256 GB RDIMMs at one DIMM per channel only, so confirm the chassis layout before planning the full 16 TB.
96 GB modules work only with the Platinum 8400H processors, and only at 8 or 16 DIMMs per processor.
Every unused slot needs a DIMM blank.
Dell’s thermal matrices, air and liquid, cap 96 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB RDIMMs at 35°C in every layout, and its A3/A4 restriction tables rule out modules of 128 GB and up.
04 — Storage
13 drive-bay layouts, up to 28 bays
Thirteen internal layouts, from eight 2.5-inch SAS/SATA bays up to 24 front bays with four EDSFF E3.S Gen5 drives behind them at the rear — 28 in all. Dell’s list includes dual-controller 24-bay SAS4/SATA builds, a 24-bay passive NVMe backplane, a 16-bay NVMe RAID layout and an eight-bay E3.S front.
Headline layouts
front panel view
Front panel
Rear module
24 × 2.5" SAS/SATA at the front, plus 4 × EDSFF NVMe at the rear — 28 bays in total.
SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe
Controllers & boot
S160 — Software RAID. Entry tier (OS RAID)
PERC H355 — RAID. Value tier, PERC 11 (replaces H345 from Dec 2021)
HBA355i — HBA. Value tier, HBA 11 internal
HBA355e — HBA. Value tier, HBA 11 external
HBA465i — HBA. Value tier, HBA 12 internal
HBA465e — HBA. Value tier, HBA 12 external
PERC H755 — RAID. Value Performance tier, PERC 11 (front PERC)
PERC H965i — RAID. Premium Performance tier, PERC 12 (Harpoon-based per guide text), internal
BOSS-N1 — boot
All 9 controllers and 1 boot options
PERC H965e — RAID. Premium Performance tier, PERC 12, external
Rear drives (2 × 2.5-inch SAS/SATA or NVMe, or 4 × E3.S) are possible only with riser configuration 3, which leaves six PCIe slots.
Dell’s drive table lists E3.S Gen5 drives at 3.84 TB and 7.68 TB, 2.5-inch NVMe up to 15.63 TB as printed, and 10K SAS disks up to 2.4 TB.
BOSS-N1 is the boot device; Dell’s A3/A4 restriction tables for the NVMe and 8- and 16-bay 2.5-inch layouts exclude both it and 2.5-inch NVMe.
For capacity beyond the chassis, the guide lists three external routes: 12 Gb MD-series JBODs, USB tape and NAS software.
Every documented layout
13 with drive bays
2.5-inch3.5-inchEDSFF (E1.S / E3.S)
05 — I/O & networking
PCIe and networking
I/O topology
80 lanes per CPU
Every processor adds 80 lanes of PCIe 5.0 and as many as four UPI links. What reaches the rear panel depends on the riser configuration, and with only two processors installed Dell lists a single option.
Network adapters Dell lists
14 options
Adapter
Ports
Form
Broadcom 4 x 25 GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
4 × 25GbE
OCP 3.0
Broadcom 2 x 25 GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
2 × 25GbE
OCP 3.0
Intel 4 x 25 GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
4 × 25GbE
OCP 3.0
Intel 2 x 25 GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
2 × 25GbE
OCP 3.0
Broadcom 4 x 10 GbE BT OCP 3.0
4 × 10GbE
OCP 3.0
Broadcom 2 x 10 GbE SFP+ OCP 3.0
2 × 10GbE
OCP 3.0
Broadcom 4 x 1 GbE BT OCP 3.0
4 × 1GbE
OCP 3.0
Intel 4 x 1 GbE SFP+ OCP 3.0
4 × 1GbE
OCP 3.0
Broadcom 2 x 100 GbE QSFP56 OCP 3.0
2 × 100GbE
OCP 3.0
Mellanox 2 x 100 GbE QSFP56 OCP 3.0
2 × 100GbE
OCP 3.0
Mellanox 2 x 25 GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
2 × 25GbE
OCP 3.0
Intel 4 x 10 GbE SFP+ OCP 3.0
4 × 10GbE
OCP 3.0
Intel 2 x 10 GbE SFP+ OCP 3.0
2 × 10GbE
OCP 3.0
Broadcom 5720 (BCM5720) 2 x 1 GbE LOM (optional)
2 × 1GbE
LOM
Riser configuration 1 gives four Gen5 x16 slots, configuration 2 eight (two of them low-profile), and configuration 3 six plus rear drive bays; all three need four processors.
Dell’s guide is inconsistent on OCP width: its OCP feature table says x16, its NIC comparison table up to x8.
Up to two hot-plug supplies, 1+1 redundant. The 60 mm units are the 1100 W Titanium, the 1400 W Platinum and the 1800 W Titanium; the 86 mm units are rated 2400 W (Platinum) and 2800 W (Titanium). All five are mixed-mode AC and 240 V DC units; there is no −48 V option.
AC
On a 100–120 V feed, expect 1400 W from each 2400 W unit and 1050 W from the 1400 W and 1100 W units; the 1800 W and 2800 W supplies need 200–240 V.
Cords: C13 (1100 W, 1400 W), C15 (1800 W, or C13 plus a C14-to-C15 jumper), C19 (2400 W) and C21 (2800 W, or C19 plus a jumper to C21).
Peak ratings at high line run from 1870 W for the 1100 W unit to 4760 W for the 2800 W unit.
Dell’s four-processor acoustic test systems use 2400 W or 2800 W supplies.
Dell’s air-cooling restriction tables call for both supplies in redundant mode and warn that performance may drop if one fails.
07 — Management, security & OS
Run it, secure it, choose the OS
Management
iDRAC9 with iDRAC Direct (front micro-USB)
iDRAC RESTful API with Redfish
iDRAC Service Module
Quick Sync 2 wireless module
OpenManage Enterprise with Power Manager, Services and Update Manager plug-ins
CloudIQ for PowerEdge
OpenManage integrations for VMware vCenter, Microsoft System Center and Windows Admin Center
Data at Rest Encryption (SEDs, local or external key management)
System Lockdown (iDRAC9 Enterprise or Datacenter)
TPM 2.0 FIPS, CC-TCG certified; TPM 2.0 China NationZ
Operating systems
Canonical Ubuntu Server LTS
Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
VMware ESXi
Citrix XenServer (named in the OS chapter only)
08 — Compare
R840 → R860
Dell compares the R860 only with the four-socket R840 it succeeds; the guide has no forward comparison. Every cell below comes from that table, except the DC detail in the R860 power cell, which is from Dell’s PSU options table.
The R860 shares its processors and 64-slot memory with the 4U R960; Dell’s two-socket 2U models are included for scale. The bars compare the documented limits of each.
This modelSiblings and successorEach value from that model’s own verified spec file · bars scale per column
Four builds aimed at the database, ERP and consolidation work Dell targets with the R860, each kept inside its thermal tables. Parts are limited to what our configurator permits for this server, and each build loads straight into it.
In-memory databases
Eight-terabyte in-memory database host
SAP HANA heads Dell’s workload list for the R860. Four 32-core Platinum 8454H processors stay at 35°C on air in every layout, and 64 × 128 GB modules give 8 TB with every slot filled — clear of the one-per-channel rule Dell applies to 256 GB parts.
4 × Xeon Platinum 8454H — 32 cores @ 2.1 GHz, 270 W each
64 × 128 GB DDR5 RDIMM — 8 TB, every slot filled
12 × 3.84 TB NVMe on the 24-bay passive NVMe backplane
BOSS-N1 boot device
Broadcom 2 × 25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
2 × 2400 W Platinum (1+1)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Dell’s guide names SAP HANA as a target workload but does not cover appliance certification; confirm the validated configuration before ordering.
Four 32-core Gold 6448H processors give 128 cores for folding many VMs onto one host. The 24-bay SAS4/SATA front sits behind the PERC H965i, and four rear E3.S Gen5 drives add a fast tier — the 28-bay maximum, with the 250 W parts still rated for 35°C.
4 × Xeon Gold 6448H — 32 cores @ 2.4 GHz, 250 W each
64 × 64 GB DDR5-4800 RDIMM — 4 TB
24 × 3.84 TB SAS SSD behind the PERC H965i — 92.16 TB raw
4 × 7.68 TB E3.S Gen5 NVMe in the rear module
BOSS-N1 boot device
Intel 4 × 25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
2 × 2800 W Titanium, 200–240 V (1+1)
VMware ESXi
Rear drives require riser configuration 3, which leaves six PCIe Gen5 x16 slots.
Oracle and SQL are on Dell’s R860 workload list. Where a low core count suits the licensing, a pair of 2.9 GHz Platinum 8444H chips (16 cores each) keeps the server to 32 cores yet still allows 96 GB DIMMs, which only the six Platinum parts support. Sixteen modules per processor satisfies Dell’s 96 GB population rule.
2 × Xeon Platinum 8444H — 16 cores @ 2.9 GHz, 270 W each
32 × 96 GB DDR5 RDIMM — 3 TB, 16 per processor
16 × 1.92 TB SAS SSD on the 16-bay SAS4/SATA backplane
PERC H755 hardware RAID
BOSS-N1 boot device
Mellanox 2 × 25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0
2 × 1400 W Platinum (1+1)
Windows Server 2025
A two-processor R860 is limited to riser configuration 0 and its four PCIe Gen4 x8 slots; Gen5 slots and rear drives need all four processors.
Four 60-core Platinum 8490H processors with 24 front NVMe drives for scan-heavy data warehousing and business intelligence, both on Dell’s workload list. On air, 350 W parts in the 24-bay NVMe layout are held to 30°C inlet, so plan a cool aisle or the liquid-cooling option.
4 × Xeon Platinum 8490H — 60 cores @ 1.9 GHz, 350 W each
64 × 64 GB DDR5-4800 RDIMM — 4 TB
24 × 7.68 TB NVMe Gen4 on the passive backplane — 184.32 TB raw
BOSS-N1 boot device
Mellanox 2 × 100GbE QSFP56 OCP 3.0
2 × 2800 W Titanium (1+1)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Dell’s A2 restriction table for this layout also lists 330 W-plus processors as unsupported on air, which conflicts with its 30°C matrix entry — confirm with Dell, or choose liquid cooling, which its matrix rates at 35°C here. ASHRAE A3/A4 rooms exclude 2.5-inch NVMe and processors above 195 W.
Our refurbished configurator has no four-socket PowerEdge — every model in it has one or two sockets. If the four-socket requirement is really about memory rather than cores, these two-socket models reach 3–4 TB of DDR4.
14G · re-certified
PowerEdge R7425
2U · 2 × AMD EPYC 7001, up to 64 cores
32 DIMM slots · up to 4 TB DDR4
24 × 2.5" or 12 × 3.5" bays
iDRAC9
Memory-heavy virtualisation or analytics that fits in 4 TB and 64 cores, where four sockets would exceed what the workload uses.
USB tape, NAS software stack, 12 Gb MD-series JBODs
Expansion & networking
PCIe slots
Up to 8 × Gen5 x16 (four CPUs) · 4 × Gen4 x8 with two CPUs
OCP
OCP NIC 3.0 SFF, Gen4: 4 × 1GbE, 2 or 4 × 10GbE, 2 or 4 × 25GbE, 2 × 100GbE
LOM
Optional 2 × 1GbE (Broadcom BCM5720)
Accelerators
GPU / FPGA
Not supported
Power
Supplies
Up to two hot-plug, 1+1 redundant
60 mm
1100 W Titanium · 1400 W Platinum · 1800 W Titanium (200–240 V only)
86 mm
2400 W Platinum · 2800 W Titanium (200–240 V only)
DC
240 V DC on all five (mixed mode) · no −48 V DC option
Ports & video
Front
1 × USB 2.0 · 1 × VGA · 1 × iDRAC Direct (micro-USB)
Rear
1 × USB 2.0 · 1 × USB 3.0 · 1 × VGA (optional with DLC) · 1 × iDRAC Ethernet · optional serial
Internal
1 × USB 3.0
Video
Integrated Matrox G200, 16 MB
Environment
ASHRAE A2
10–35°C up to 900 m
ASHRAE A3
5–40°C · processors ≤ 195 W · restriction tables also bar 128 GB+ DIMMs, 2.5" NVMe and BOSS-N1
ASHRAE A4
5–45°C · 165 W processors only
Acoustics
Four 350 W processors, 64 DIMMs, 24 drives: 71 dB(A) at maximum load (30°C)
12 — FAQ
R860 questions, answered from the documentation
What is the maximum memory of the Dell PowerEdge R860?
Dell rates the R860 at 16 TB across 64 DDR5 RDIMM slots, 16 per processor — that is 64 × 256 GB. The guide’s A2 restriction tables for the NVMe layouts and the 8- and 16-bay SAS/SATA layouts limit 256 GB modules to one DIMM per channel, so check the layout if you need the full figure. With 128 GB modules in all 64 slots the total is 8 TB.
Which processors does the R860 support?
Dell lists ten H-series processors from the 4th Gen Xeon Scalable family — four Gold (6416H up to 6448H) and six Platinum (8444H up to 8490H) — with core counts from 8 to 60 and TDPs between 165 W and 350 W. There is no 5th Gen Xeon option, and Dell advises against mixing models in a four-socket system.
Can the R860 run with two processors?
Yes. Dell’s riser table lists configuration 0 for two or four processors, and it provides four PCIe Gen4 x8 slots. The Gen5 x16 riser configurations and the rear drive options all require four processors.
How many drive bays does the R860 have?
Up to 28: 24 × 2.5-inch SAS4/SATA at the front plus four EDSFF E3.S Gen5 NVMe at the rear. Alternatives include 24 passive NVMe bays, 16 NVMe RAID bays, 16 SAS4/SATA plus 8 NVMe, or eight E3.S at the front. Rear bays need riser configuration 3.
Does the R860 support GPUs?
No. Dell’s guide lists GPU options as N/A for the R860, and its thermal restriction tables mark GPUs and FPGAs as not supported. For four-socket GPU work Dell offers the 4U R960, rated for four double-wide 400 W cards.
How many PCIe slots does the R860 have?
With four processors, up to eight PCIe Gen5 x16 slots (riser configuration 2, two of them low-profile), six when rear drives are fitted, or four in the basic Gen5 layout. Two-processor systems get four Gen4 x8 slots. Each processor supplies 80 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and there is also a Gen4 OCP 3.0 slot and an optional 2 × 1GbE LOM.
How big and heavy is the PowerEdge R860?
The chassis is 2U: 86.8 mm tall, 482 mm across and 883.2 mm deep including the bezel, or 869.2 mm without it. Dell’s weight table gives up to 42.97 kg with all drives fitted and 13.09 kg with no drives or power supplies.
How does the R860 differ from the R960?
Processor list, slot count (64) and the 16 TB ceiling are identical. The R860 fits that into 2U with up to 28 drive bays including rear E3.S, eight Gen5 slots and two power supplies, but no GPUs. The 4U R960 adds up to 32 front bays, twelve Gen5 slots, four double-wide GPUs and four supplies in 2+2, including a −48 V DC option.
What changed from the R840 to the R860?
Processors move from 2nd to 4th Gen Xeon Scalable, memory from 48 DDR4 slots with PMem and NVDIMM to 64 DDR5 slots, and PCIe from up to six Gen3 slots to eight Gen5. E3.S Gen5 drives, an OCP 3.0 slot and optional liquid cooling are new, but the R840’s two double-wide GPU option and its −48 V DC supply are gone.
Is the Dell PowerEdge R860 end of life?
Dell has not put one in the guide: the December 2024 revision (A05) carries no end-of-sale or end-of-support date for the R860, and, unlike the R960 guide of the same date, its service appendix says nothing about Post Standard Support. Our end-of-life checker is updated as Dell releases lifecycle dates.
Specifications are extracted from Dell’s published documents and independently re-checked line by line. Configurations are quote-based; availability and exact options are confirmed at quotation. Last reviewed 2026-09-11.
