Dell PowerEdge R540 Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Form Factor | 2U Rack |
| Processors | Up to 2x Intel Xeon Scalable (up to 20 cores per socket) |
| Max Cores | 40 total |
| Memory Slots | 16x DDR4 RDIMM/LRDIMM |
| Max Memory | 1 TB (up to 2666 MT/s) |
| Front Drive Bays | 12x 3.5" SAS/SATA |
| Rear Drive Bays | Optional 2x 3.5" |
| Total Max Drives | 14 |
| Max Storage | 168 TB front (12x 14 TB) + 28 TB rear |
| RAID Controllers | S140 (SW), H330, H730P, H740P, HBA330, H840 (external) |
| BOSS Card | 2x M.2 SATA (120/240 GB) RAID1 |
| Embedded NIC | 2x 1GbE LOM + optional riser |
| Management | iDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller, Redfish API, Quick Sync 2 |
| Power Supply | 450W Bronze, 495W/750W/1100W Platinum, 750W Titanium |
| Security | TPM 1.2/2.0, Silicon Root of Trust, Secure Boot, System Lockdown |
| Chassis Depth | 693 mm (compact for 2U) |
Dell R540 vs R740 — Budget vs Full-Featured 14G 2U
| Feature | R540 (Budget) | R740 (Full-Featured) |
|---|---|---|
| Max Cores Per CPU | 20 | 28 |
| DIMM Slots | 16 | 24 |
| Max Memory | 1 TB | 3 TB |
| Front Drive Bays | 12x 3.5" | 8x 3.5" or 16x 2.5" |
| Rear Drive Bays | 2x 3.5" | None |
| Total Drives | 14 | 16 |
| PCIe Slots | Limited | Up to 8 |
| GPU Support | None | Up to 3x 300W DW |
| NDC | 2x 1GbE LOM + optional riser | Dedicated NDC (up to 25GbE) |
| Persistent Memory | None | NVDIMM-N + Optane |
| Max PSU | 1100W | 2400W |
| Chassis Depth | 693 mm (compact) | 715 mm |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
Choose the R540 for budget file/backup storage with up to 14x 3.5-inch drives and a compact chassis. Choose the R740 when you need GPU support, extensive PCIe expansion, persistent memory, or more than 1 TB RAM.
Frequently Asked Questions
What generation is the Dell R540?
The Dell PowerEdge R540 is a 14th Generation (14G) server using Intel Xeon Scalable processors. The 13th Gen predecessor is the R530; the 15th Gen successor is the R550.
What is the difference between the Dell R540 and R740?
The R540 is the budget 2U with 16 DIMM slots (vs 24), max 20 cores per CPU (vs 28), no GPU support, and limited PCIe. The R740 adds 8 PCIe slots, up to 3x 300W GPUs, 25GbE NDC, and persistent memory. The R540 supports up to 14 drives (12 front 3.5-inch + 2 rear 3.5-inch) at a lower price.
How much does a refurbished Dell R540 cost?
Pricing depends on processor, memory, and storage configuration. Use the configurator on this page to request a quote. Enterasource builds every R540 to order with a 2-year warranty and free ground shipping to the lower 48 states.
Browse all Dell PowerEdge servers available at Enterasource.
