PowerEdge R730
General 2U for Hyper-V/ESXi clusters, SQL and two GPUs; the most common 13G server in the field.
The PowerEdge R730 is a legacy model past vendor sales, usually out of warranty but still serviceable. General 2U for Hyper-V/ESXi clusters, SQL and two GPUs; the most common 13G server in the field.
Platform facts
| Vendor | Dell |
|---|---|
| Generation | 13G |
| Form factor | 2U rack |
| Sockets | 2 |
| CPU | Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3/v4 (Haswell-EP / Broadwell-EP) |
| DIMM slots | 24 |
| Memory | DDR4 RDIMM/LRDIMM, up to 1.5 TB |
| Storage | 16x 2.5-inch or 8x 3.5-inch hot-plug SAS/SATA/SSD, internal dual SD |
| RAID | PERC H330, H730, H730P, H830; HBA330 |
| Management | iDRAC8 |
| Released | 2014 |
| Status | legacy |
Field notes
Typical faults: H730 battery, 750/1100 W PSUs, backplane expander on the 16-bay, and worn SD boot cards. Supports two double-wide GPUs with the 1100 W PSUs and GPU kit. Keep BIOS at 2.19.x and iDRAC8 at 2.86; Lifecycle Controller catalog updates work fine. Windows Server 2019 is supported, 2022 is not; ESXi 7.0 U3 is the last certified release. Replace with an R760 or R7625.
Successor: PowerEdge R740.
What we do with the PowerEdge R730
- Specification and procurement of new PowerEdge servers, configured to order
- Rack, rail and cable installation, iDRAC setup and firmware baseline
- Memory, NVMe, PERC and NIC upgrades with qualified parts
- Out-of-warranty repair: PSU, fan, backplane, PERC battery and motherboard replacement
- OS and hypervisor installs: Windows Server, VMware, Proxmox, RHEL, Ubuntu
- ProSupport case handling and lifecycle refresh planning
Keep it or replace it?
A PowerEdge R730 can keep doing a single job for years if it has good backups, current firmware and spare parts on the shelf. It should not be the only copy of anything, and it should not be internet-facing on an unsupported OS. We will tell you honestly whether a memory or disk upgrade buys useful time or whether the money belongs in a replacement.
Replacement planning covers the OS and licences, not only the box: a PowerEdge R730 running Windows Server 2012 or an old ESXi needs a migration plan, not a lift-and-shift.
Related models
Related services
Frequently asked questions
Do you work on PowerEdge servers you did not sell?
Yes. Most of our Dell work is on servers a business already owns, in or out of warranty.
Can you update firmware without downtime?
iDRAC and some component firmware update live. BIOS, PERC and NIC firmware need a reboot, which we schedule in a maintenance window.
Can the PowerEdge R730 run a current operating system?
Check the field notes above. As a rule, current models are certified for Windows Server 2022/2025, ESXi 8 and RHEL 9; legacy models usually stop at Windows Server 2019 or ESXi 7 and may need Proxmox or an older Linux to stay useful.
Need a hand with this?
Tell us what you are running and what is slowing you down. You get a straight assessment and a plan, with no obligation. Support desk is staffed 24/7.