Dell PowerEdge R640 and R650 servers are two of the most popular server choices for businesses that need high performance at an affordable cost. In this blog post, our Dell-certified experts explain the key differences between them and which might be best for your IT department.
Dell R640
The R640 is a dual-socket, 1U platform ideal for data center computing. Combining density, performance, and scalability, the R640 provides the flexibility to optimize configurations based on the application and use case. An R640 server enables your department to:
- Simplify deployments and speed deployments with Dell EMC ready nodes for ScaleIO and VSAN
- Maximize storage performance with up to 10 2.5” NVME/SAS/SATA Drives
- Scale compute resources with Intel® Xeon® Scalable delivering a 27% increase in processing cores and 50% increase in bandwidth over previous generation Xeon processors
Dell R650
The PowerEdge R650 is a full-featured enterprise server designed to optimize workload performance and data center density. A dual-socket 1U rack server, the R650 supports 8 channels of memory per CPU and up to 32 DDR4 DIMMs @ 3200 MT/s speeds. The R650 is an especially popular choice for applications such as:
- Traditional corporate IT
- Databases and analytics
- Virtual desktop infrastructure
- AI/ML and HPC
Key Differences and Factors to Consider
CPU Support
- R640: Intel Xeon Scalable Gen 1 & 2 (Skylake, Cascade Lake)
- R650: Intel Xeon Scalable Gen 3 (Ice Lake)
- Why it matters: Gen 3 CPUs offer more cores per socket, higher memory bandwidth, and better performance per watt. If your business performs compute-heavy tasks such as virtualization or data analytics, opt for the R650.
Memory Capacity and Speed
- R640: Up to 1.5TB DDR4 @ 2933MHz
- R650: Up to 2TB DDR4 @ 3200MHz
- Why it matters: Faster memory and higher max capacity leads to better performance for workloads such as SAP HANA, SQL, and large VMs.
PCIe Generation
- R640: Gen 3
- R650: Gen 4
- Why it matters: Gen 4 doubles your server bandwidth, improving performance of NVMe storage, GPUs, and networking cards and making the R650 especially useful for AI, ML, and high-speed data.
NVMe Support
- R640: Limited direct NVMe drive support
- R650: Up to 10 native NVMe drive slots
- Why it matters: More native NVMe drive slots means faster I/O and more flexibility for SSD-heavy storage tiers.
Networking
- R640: 1GbE/10GbE options
- R650: Comes with OCP 3.0 slot for 25GbE+ modern networking
- Why it matters: The R650 offers improved network throughput and lower latency, which is crucial for modern data centers or virtualization clusters.
Security and Management
The R650 features more advanced security with Silicon Root of Trust, Automatic Recovery BIOS, and newer iDRAC9 features. It is also easier to update firmware and manage remotely. Cybersecurity increasingly targets firmware, not just hardware; Silicon Root of Trust ensures the server boots securely every time by verifying firmware integrity.
Cost
The R650 is typically more expensive than the R640 depending on the configuration. Both servers are high-performing, with significant advantages to IT departments. If you have a limited budget, consider buying refurbished servers rather than new. Guaranteed refurbished systems offer the same specs and performance at a fraction of the cost of new systems.
When Companies Should Upgrade to the R650
If you’re running your business on R640 systems, consider upgrading to the R650 if you:
- Need to run heavier workloads (VMI, AI/ML, database, etc.)
- Require faster storage or networking
- Want to future-proof for 3-5 more years
- Need more performance per rack unit
Want to Learn More?
If you have additional questions about which refurbished Dell server to choose, our Dell-certified experts can help. Contact us today!
