PowerEdge R730 XD Server
The Dell PowerEdge R730xd is the storage-dense 13th-generation 2U: up to 26 drive bays including 12× 3.5″ plus rear SSD slots — the classic budget platform for TrueNAS, Ceph, and backup storage.
Dell PowerEdge R730xd — Refurbished & Custom-Built
The Dell PowerEdge R730xd (Dell R730xd) is the storage-dense variant of Dell’s 13th-generation 2U — up to 26 drive bays where the standard R730 tops out at 16. On the refurbished market it is the cheapest way to put serious, redundant storage behind a proper enterprise platform. PC Server & Parts builds each R730xd to order and backs it with a free 1-year warranty. See all Dell servers or the full refurbished lineup.
Dell R730xd Specs at a Glance
| Form factor | 2U rack server (storage-optimized) |
|---|---|
| Processors | 2× Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3/v4, up to 22 cores each |
| Memory | 24 DIMM slots, DDR4-2400 — up to 1.5 TB (RDIMM) / 3 TB (LRDIMM) |
| Drive bays | 12× 3.5″ + 2× 2.5″ rear, or up to 26× 2.5″ SFF |
| Storage controllers | PERC H330 / H730 / H730P |
| Management | iDRAC8 |
| Generation / released | Dell 13G, launched 2014 |
Choose Your Dell R730xd Chassis
Every chassis opens a Build-Your-Own configurator — choose CPUs, memory, drives, and networking, and we assemble and test the complete server before it ships. Don’t see the layout you need? Request a quote.
What the Dell R730xd Is Best At
The R730xd built its reputation as the budget storage workhorse: TrueNAS/ZFS builds, Ceph and other software-defined storage, backup repositories, media and surveillance storage, and homelab-to-production file services. Twelve 3.5″ bays of cheap high-capacity disk plus two rear SSD bays for cache or boot make the LFF chassis a classic; the 24/26-bay SFF versions turn it into a dense SSD array for very little money.
Dell R730xd vs Related Models
- Dell R730 — the standard 2U sibling: fewer bays, more PCIe/GPU flexibility.
- Dell R740xd — one generation newer: Xeon Scalable CPUs, up to 32 bays, NVMe options.
- Dell R740 — the 14th-gen general-purpose 2U when storage density isn’t the priority.
Why Buy a Refurbished R730xd from PCSP
Every R730xd ships from our Michigan facility cleaned, firmware-updated, and burn-in tested with your drives installed and verified. Free shipping in the contiguous US and a free 1-year warranty (extendable to 5 years) — even at entry prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the R730 and R730xd?
Same 13th-gen platform, different priorities: the R730xd trades some PCIe flexibility for drive density — up to 26 bays (vs 16), including 12× 3.5″ front bays plus rear 2.5″ flex bays for boot/cache SSDs. If you need maximum disks per dollar, the xd wins; for GPU or expansion-card-heavy builds, choose the R730.
Is the R730xd still a good buy in 2026?
For storage duty — absolutely. E5 v4 CPUs remain plenty for NAS, backup, and media workloads, DDR4 and 3.5″ drives are cheap, and the platform is famously reliable. Plan the hypervisor around ESXi 8’s dropped v3/v4 support (TrueNAS, Proxmox, and ESXi 7 all run fine).
How many drives fit in an R730xd?
Up to 26: the LFF chassis holds 12× 3.5″ front + 2× 2.5″ rear (14 total), and SFF chassis run 24 or 26× 2.5″. Mid-bay options on some configurations add internal drives beyond that. All three chassis above link to configurators with tested drive options.
How is a refurbished Dell R730xd covered if something fails?
All Dell R730xd builds include PCSP’s free 1-year warranty — covered failures are repaired or replaced with parts, labor, and shipping included. You can extend coverage to up to 5 years at checkout, and on-site service plans are offered for production deployments.
Can I customize my Dell R730xd configuration?
Yes. Pick any Dell R730xd chassis above and use the Build-Your-Own configurator to choose CPUs, memory, drives, RAID controller, NICs, and rails — we assemble and burn-in test the exact build before it ships. If the configuration you need isn’t listed, request a quote and our team will spec and source it.