serverbastion.com
Dell PowerEdge R960 (New)
What Is the Dell PowerEdge R960?
The R960 is the four-socket, scale-up flagship of Dell’s 16th-generation PowerEdge family. In a 4U rack chassis it accepts four Intel Xeon Scalable processors — 4th Generation Sapphire Rapids or 5th Generation Emerald Rapids — with 64 DDR5 RDIMM slots across the four sockets, twelve PCIe 5.0 x16 slots in the maximum-I/O riser configuration, and redundant 2+2 power supplies up to 2800 W.
Buyers choose the R960 when a workload must scale up in a single, coherent image rather than scale out across a cluster: very large in-memory databases, four-socket-licensed enterprise applications, dense ERP/CRM and database consolidation, and large virtualization or VDI farms. As an independent supplier and exporter, we configure each R960 to your exact CPU, memory, storage and networking specification and ship worldwide with full export documentation.
R960 specifications at a glance
| Form factor | 4U four-socket rack server (4 × CPU sockets) |
| Generation | Dell PowerEdge 16th Generation (16G) |
| Processors | 4 × 4th/5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable; up to 60 cores per socket (4th Gen) / 64 cores per socket (5th Gen); up to 350 W TDP per CPU |
| Maximum cores | Up to 256 cores in one 4-socket host |
| Memory | 64 × DDR5 ECC RDIMM slots; 4800 MT/s 1 DPC / 4400 MT/s 2 DPC (4th Gen), 5600 MT/s with 5th Gen; 16/32/64/96/128/256 GB modules |
| Maximum memory | 16 TB |
| Front drive bays | 8 × 2.5″, 16 × 2.5″, or 32 × 2.5″ SAS/SATA (SmartFlow / dual-controller); 16 × 2.5″ SAS/SATA + 8 × NVMe; 24 × 2.5″ NVMe; 16 × EDSFF E3.S Gen5 NVMe (or 16 × E3.S + 8 × 2.5″ SAS/SATA) |
| Maximum NVMe | Up to 24 × 2.5″ NVMe, or up to 16 × EDSFF E3.S Gen5 NVMe |
| RAID / HBA | PERC H355, H755, H965i, H965e; HBA355i/HBA355e and HBA465i/HBA465e; BOSS-N1 boot; software RAID S160 |
| PCIe slots | Up to 12 × PCIe Gen5 x16 (maximum-I/O riser configuration) |
| Networking | OCP 3.0 mezzanine (up to 100 GbE), optional 2 × 1 GbE LOM board; either or both may be installed |
| GPUs | Up to 4 × double-wide 400 W accelerators (dedicated GPU riser configuration) |
| Power | Four hot-plug PSUs with 2+2 redundancy: 1100 W / 1400 W / 1800 W / 2400 W / 2800 W AC/HVDC, plus 1100 W -48 V DC |
| Cooling | Up to six sets of hot-plug dual-rotor fan modules; optional Direct Liquid Cooling (rack-manifold solution) |
| Management | iDRAC9 (Enterprise/Datacenter tiers), OpenManage Enterprise, Redfish, TPM 2.0, Silicon Root of Trust, Secure Boot, Secure Erase |
| Dimensions / weight | 4U: 174.3 mm H × 482 mm W × 883.195 mm D with bezel (869.195 mm without); maximum system weight 60.2 kg |
Specifications per the official Dell PowerEdge R960 Technical Guide (Rev. A05/A06) and the Dell R960 specification sheet. Systems are configured to order; not every option is present in every build, so confirm your target configuration with our sales team.
R960 Specifications in Detail
Processors: four 4th/5th Gen Xeon Scalable CPUs, up to 256 cores
The four sockets run 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable (Sapphire Rapids) processors, up to the 60-core 8490H at 350 W, or 5th Generation (Emerald Rapids) processors with up to 64 cores per socket — up to 256 cores in a single system. Each CPU offers up to four Intel UPI links at up to 16 GT/s for coherent four-socket scale-up and up to 80 integrated PCIe 5.0 lanes. Send us your vCPU target and per-socket licensing boundary and we will quote the exact four-CPU SKU set; processor mixing within a 4S build is not recommended.
Memory: 64 DDR5 RDIMMs, up to 16 TB
The system board provides 64 DDR5 ECC RDIMM slots (16 per processor) running at 4800 MT/s at one DIMM per channel and 4400 MT/s at two DIMMs per channel with 4th Generation CPUs, and up to 5600 MT/s with 5th Generation processors. Supported module capacities run from 16 GB through 256 GB, for a maximum of 16 TB — the headroom that large SAP HANA and Oracle in-memory footprints require. We match DIMM vendor, rank layout and firmware across all four memory riser groups for uniform batch deployments.
Storage: 32-bay SmartFlow, 24 NVMe or EDSFF E3.S Gen5
Front-only storage configurations include 8, 16 or 32 × 2.5″ SAS/SATA SmartFlow or dual-controller backplanes, a mixed 16 × SAS/SATA + 8 × NVMe build, an all-NVMe 24 × 2.5″ Gen4 NVMe passive backplane, and up to 16 × EDSFF E3.S Gen5 NVMe drives — or 16 × E3.S plus 8 × 2.5″ SAS/SATA. There are no rear drive bays. Validated SSDs include 24 Gb SAS, 12 Gb vSAS, 6 Gb SATA and NVMe options; the universal backplane supports hardware RAID for SAS/SATA with direct-attach NVMe.
RAID controllers: PERC 11/12, HBA and BOSS-N1 boot
Controller choices cover software RAID S160 at entry level; PERC H355 and H755; the premium H965i (internal) and H965e (external); HBA355i/HBA355e and HBA465i/HBA465e passthrough; and a BOSS-N1 dual-M.2 card that keeps the hypervisor or boot volume off the data backplane. Tri-mode mixing of SAS, SATA and NVMe behind one controller is not supported, so we size the controller to the backplane you order.
PCIe Gen5, networking and GPUs
The R960 offers three factory riser layouts: a basic 4-slot entry configuration, an 8-socket-linked scale-out build, a maximum-I/O build with twelve Gen5 x16 slots, and a dedicated GPU configuration (full-length risers with four double-width slots). Networking uses an OCP 3.0 SFF mezzanine card at up to 100 GbE (1/10/25/100 GbE options from Broadcom, Intel and NVIDIA/Mellanox) with an optional 2 × 1 GbE LOM board; LOM and OCP may each be fitted alone or together. The GPU riser supports up to four double-wide 400 W data-center accelerators with the required GPU air shroud.
Power and cooling: 2+2 redundant PSUs to 2800 W
Four hot-plug power-supply bays run in 2+2 redundancy, with Titanium 1100 W, Platinum 1400 W, Titanium 1800 W, Platinum 2400 W and Titanium 2800 W AC/HVDC units, plus a 1100 W -48 V DC option for telecom-style DC plants. At 100–120 Vac low-line input the 2400 W PSU de-rates to 1400 W — factor this into rack power planning. Cooling uses up to six sets of hot-plug dual-rotor fan modules, with an optional Direct Liquid Cooling configuration that uses rack manifolds and a coolant distribution unit.
Management, security and chassis
Lifecycle management runs through iDRAC9 (Basic/Enterprise/Datacenter), iDRAC Direct, Redfish and OpenManage Enterprise, with cryptographically signed firmware, Silicon Root of Trust, Secure Boot, Secure Erase, System Lockdown and TPM 2.0. The 4U chassis measures 174.3 mm (6.86″) high, 482 mm (18.97″) wide and 883.195 mm (34.77″) deep with bezel, at a maximum configured weight of 60.2 kg.
R960 vs R860 vs R760: Which Dell Intel Server Do You Need?
| PowerEdge R960 | PowerEdge R860 | PowerEdge R760 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form factor | 4U four-socket | 2U four-socket | 2U two-socket |
| Processors | 4 × 4th/5th Gen Xeon | 4 × 4th/5th Gen Xeon | 2 × 4th/5th Gen Xeon |
| Cores (max) | Up to 256 total | Up to 256 total | Up to 128 total |
| Memory | 64 × DDR5, up to 16 TB | 64 × DDR5, up to 16 TB | 32 × DDR5, up to 8 TB |
| Front storage | Up to 32 × 2.5″, 24 NVMe, 16 × E3.S | Up to 24 × 2.5″ / E3.S options | 8/12 × 3.5″ or 24 × 2.5″ |
| PCIe slots | Up to 12 × Gen5 x16 | Up to 8 slots (Gen5/Gen4 mix) + OCP | 8 × Gen5 + OCP |
| GPUs | Up to 4 × 400 W double-wide | Not supported | Up to 2 × 350 W double-wide |
| Best fit | Maximum scale-up: in-memory DBs, four-socket ERP, 4-GPU compute | Dense four-socket scale-up without GPUs | Mainstream dual-socket virtualization and HCI |
Rule of thumb: choose the R960 when you need four sockets and 16 TB of memory with maximum I/O or GPU expansion in one scale-up host. Pick the R860 when the same four-socket/16 TB memory model is required in a denser 2U chassis without GPUs. Standardize on the R760 for cost-optimized dual-socket virtualization, HCI and general-purpose fleets.
What the R960 Is Used For
- SAP HANA and in-memory databases. Four-socket bandwidth with up to 16 TB of DDR5 keeps very large HANA, Oracle and SQL Server in-memory footprints resident in a single, coherently interconnected image.
- Mission-critical ERP, CRM and batch systems. Scale-up compute and memory for SAP, Oracle E-Business Suite and similar four-socket-licensed applications, with redundant PSUs and hot-plug fans.
- Database consolidation and data warehousing. Consolidate many two-socket database hosts onto one R960 to cut OS instances, license cores and rack footprint for BI and analytics workloads.
- Large virtualization and VDI scale-up. High vCPU and memory density per host for large VMware/Hyper-V/KVM clusters and dense VDI farms, simplifying licensing and management domains.
- AI, HPC and machine learning. The GPU riser configuration hosts up to four double-width 400 W accelerators alongside 12 Gen5 slots and high-speed OCP networking for inference, training-adjacent and accelerated compute.
Configure Your New R960: CTO, Batch Orders and Export
Every R960 we quote is new, genuine Dell hardware configured to order. Multi-unit orders receive matched CPU steppings, identical DIMM layouts, same-batch drives and standardized firmware, palletized and documented for export. Send destination country, incoterm and your target CPU/memory/storage configuration with your inquiry.
Typical configurable options:
- 4 × 4th Gen (up to 60-core, 350 W) or 5th Gen (up to 64-core) Intel Xeon Scalable processors
- 64 × DDR5 RDIMM, 4800/5600 MT/s, 16 GB–256 GB modules, up to 16 TB total
- 8/16/32 × 2.5″ SAS/SATA, 16 + 8 mixed, 24 × NVMe, or 16 × EDSFF E3.S Gen5 NVMe front configurations
- PERC H355 / H755 / H965i / H965e, HBA355/HBA465, S160 or BOSS-N1 boot
- Entry (4-slot), scale-out (8-slot), maximum-I/O (12 × Gen5 x16) or GPU (4 × double-wide) riser builds; OCP 3.0 to 100 GbE
- 1100/1400/1800/2400/2800 W redundant AC/HVDC PSUs or 1100 W -48 V DC; air cooling or direct liquid cooling; rails and cable arms
Why Buy a New R960 from ServerBastion?
- Brand-new and factory-sealed. We supply current, genuine Dell PowerEdge systems only — every R960 ships as new, CTO-configured hardware.
- Independent supplier and exporter channel pricing. We configure and export in volume, so you receive a configured price for the exact build rather than a generic listing.
- 3-year Xinchuan warranty. Every new PowerEdge R960 is backed by a 3-year warranty from Beijing Xinchuan Technology Co., Ltd., with clearly stated support terms on your quotation.
- Complex four-socket configuration expertise. We validate CPU sets, 64-DIMM population rules, backplane/controller pairing, riser layouts and PSU de-rating before quoting.
- Batch-ready and export-experienced. Matched revisions, palletized shipping and complete export documentation for buyers worldwide.
NEW DELL POWEREDGE R960 · CONFIGURED TO ORDER
R960 Build Options: Front, Rear and Interior
The 4U R960 is factory-built in several front-bay and riser configurations — from the 32-bay SmartFlow chassis to the 24-bay NVMe and EDSFF E3.S versions. Below: the two front options we quote most, plus the rear I/O and internal riser layout.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the R960, R860 and R760?
All three are 16th-generation Intel Xeon Scalable servers. The R960 is a 4U four-socket flagship with up to 16 TB of memory, twelve PCIe Gen5 x16 slots and support for four 400 W double-width GPUs. The R860 puts the same four-socket, 16 TB-class design in a denser 2U chassis without GPU support. The R760 is a 2U two-socket mainstream server with up to 8 TB and eight Gen5 slots, optimized for volume virtualization and HCI.
How many CPU sockets and cores does the R960 have?
Four sockets for 4th Generation (Sapphire Rapids, up to 60 cores per socket) or 5th Generation (Emerald Rapids, up to 64 cores per socket) Intel Xeon Scalable processors — up to 256 cores in a single 4U host, at up to 350 W per CPU.
What is the maximum RAM for the R960, and how many DIMM slots does it have?
The R960 has 64 DDR5 ECC RDIMM slots (16 per processor) and supports a maximum of 16 TB using 256 GB modules. Memory runs at 4800 MT/s (one DIMM per channel) or 4400 MT/s (two DIMMs per channel) with 4th Generation CPUs, and up to 5600 MT/s with 5th Generation processors.
How many GPUs and PCIe slots fit in the R960?
The maximum-I/O riser build provides up to twelve PCIe Gen5 x16 slots, and the dedicated GPU riser configuration supports up to four double-wide 400 W data-center accelerators with the GPU air shroud. Networking is via an OCP 3.0 mezzanine at up to 100 GbE, with an optional 2 × 1 GbE LOM board.
What is the lead time for a configured R960, and how is it shipped?
R960 systems are configured to order, so lead time depends on CPU, memory and backplane availability at quote time — we confirm a concrete schedule on your quotation, not a generic stock estimate. Units ship palletized with rails, cable arms and full export documentation; multi-unit orders are matched by CPU stepping and DIMM layout.
What warranty and condition do you supply the R960 in?
We supply only brand-new, factory-sealed, genuine Dell PowerEdge R960 systems, configured to order and backed by a 3-year warranty from Beijing Xinchuan Technology Co., Ltd. Your quotation lists the exact build, warranty terms and shipping incoterms. Contact us with your configuration and destination country.
Compare Related PowerEdge Models
Prefer email? Write to info@sell-server.com or message WhatsApp +86 180 0106 0290.
Explore the rest of our Intel Xeon server range.
Specifications on this page are based on the official Dell PowerEdge R960 Technical Guide (Rev. A05/A06) and Dell PowerEdge R960 specification sheet. Dell and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel Xeon is a trademark of Intel Corporation. New units are sold and warranted by Beijing Xinchuan Technology Co., Ltd., an independent supplier and exporter; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dell Inc.
WeChat
Scan the QR Code with wechat