The bench notes
Server guides & buying advice
Model comparisons, platform explainers and configuration advice — written from the hardware we refurbish, test and ship every day.
HPE ProLiant
HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10: Small Chassis, Full Platform
The DL360 Gen10 fits a full two-socket Xeon Scalable platform into 1U: 24 DIMM slots, up to ten SFF bays, Smart Array RAID, and iLO 5....
dell poweredge
Dell PowerEdge R640: A 1U Built for NVMe
The R640 packs two LGA 3647 sockets, 24 DDR4 DIMM slots, and up to ten 2.5-inch bays into a single rack unit. Here is how its...
dell poweredge
Dell PowerEdge R630: Dense Compute in One Rack Unit
The R630 puts 44 cores and 24 DIMM slots into a single rack unit. A look at its drive and NVMe options, the three low-profile PCIe...
DL380 Gen9
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9: The Platform That Refuses to Age
The DL380 Gen9 is fully understood hardware with no surprises left in it. Here is what the E5-2600 v3/v4 platform still does well, where its four...
DL380 Gen10
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10: Why It Became the Default 2U
A practical breakdown of the DL380 Gen10 platform: Socket P processors, six memory channels per CPU, drive cage choices, PCIe and FlexibleLOM layout, and iLO 5....
Buying guide
Dell PowerEdge R740xd: Capacity Without the Compromise
The R740xd combines up to 32 drive bays, six memory channels per socket, and a dedicated M.2 boot device in one 2U chassis. Here is what...
Buying guide
Dell PowerEdge R730xd: The Storage Workhorse Explained
The R730xd is Dell's 13th-generation 2U storage chassis: up to 24 front SFF or 12 front LFF bays, 24 DIMM slots, and a controller choice that...
Buying guide
When a Gen9 Server Is Still the Smart Buy
HPE ProLiant Gen9 is a decade-old platform, but for disk-bound, memory-hungry, and non-per-core-licensed workloads it is still a rational purchase. Here is where it fits, where...
Buying guide
Dell 13th vs 14th Generation: Is the Jump Worth It?
Moving from PowerEdge 13G to 14G means a new socket, two extra memory channels per CPU, iDRAC9, and a different NVMe story. Here is where that...
Buying guide
Rack, Tower or Blade: Matching the Chassis to the Room
The chassis decision is usually made by the room, not the workload. Rack, tower and blade systems each assume something different about power, cooling, noise and...
Buying guide
1U vs 2U Servers: What You Give Up for Half the Height
A 1U chassis is 1.75 inches tall and a 2U is 3.5 inches, and that one dimension decides slot count, drive bays, heatsink height, and noise....
Buying guide
8SFF, 24SFF or 12LFF: How to Pick a Drive Bay Layout
Front bay layout is one of the few server decisions you cannot change without swapping the chassis. Here is how 8SFF, 24SFF and 12LFF differ in...
Buying guide
Dell R730 or HPE DL380 Gen9? A Straight Comparison
Same Xeon E5 v3/v4 silicon, same 24 DIMM slots, same PCIe 3.0. The choice between a PowerEdge R730 and a ProLiant DL380 Gen9 comes down to...