PowerEdge R740
General 2U for Hyper-V/ESXi, SQL, file and up to three double-wide GPUs.
The PowerEdge R740 is a previous-generation model, still supported and widely deployed. General 2U for Hyper-V/ESXi, SQL, file and up to three double-wide GPUs.
Platform facts
| Vendor | Dell |
|---|---|
| Generation | 14G |
| Form factor | 2U rack |
| Sockets | 2 |
| CPU | 1st/2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable (Skylake-SP / Cascade Lake-SP) |
| DIMM slots | 24 |
| Memory | DDR4 RDIMM/LRDIMM, up to 3 TB; Optane PMem 100 on 2nd Gen |
| Storage | 16x 2.5-inch or 8x 3.5-inch hot-plug (NVMe options); BOSS-S1 boot |
| RAID | PERC H330, H730P, H740P, H840; HBA330; BOSS-S1 |
| Management | iDRAC9 |
| Released | 2017 |
| Status | previous |
Field notes
Common faults are PSUs, H740P battery and the backplane expander. GPU configs need the 1600 W PSUs and the GPU riser kit. Cascade Lake drop-in after a BIOS update. Windows Server 2022 and ESXi 8.0 are supported. Still a good used buy; new, go R760 or R7625.
Successor: PowerEdge R750.
What we do with the PowerEdge R740
- 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
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 R740 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.