Dell PowerEdge R620 vs Dell PowerEdge R630
Both are Dell 1U servers and popular in the homelab. The R620 (12th Gen) is the budget pick with E5-2600 v1/v2 CPUs and DDR3 ECC. The R630 (13th Gen) offers more performance, newer E5-2600 v3/v4 CPUs, DDR4 ECC and better efficiency, but costs more. Go R620 if you want the cheapest way into a lab; go R630 if power draw and performance matter.
Dell PowerEdge R620
- +Noticeably cheaper on the used market
- +DDR3 ECC RAM is cheap and plentiful
- +Solid iDRAC7 remote management
- +E5-2600 v1/v2 plenty for Proxmox, NAS, Docker
- −Higher power draw per performance than the R630
- −Older platform (12th Gen, LGA2011, DDR3)
- −1U chassis means loud fans
Dell PowerEdge R630
- +More efficient: better performance per watt
- +Newer E5-2600 v3/v4 CPUs with more cores
- +DDR4 ECC and iDRAC8
- +Better fit for compute-heavy VMs and long-term use
- −Higher purchase price
- −DDR4 ECC RAM costs more than DDR3
- −1U chassis means loud fans
Verdict
Pick the R620 if price is the priority and you can get DDR3 RAM cheaply or already have it. Pick the R630 if efficiency, newer CPUs and a bit more performance justify the premium, especially for 24/7 use. Both are 1U and therefore loud, so neither belongs in a living room.
Dell PowerEdge R620
Dell PowerEdge R620 2x Xeon E5-2690 v2 256GB RAM 4x300GB SAS Dual PSU
Dell PowerEdge R620 Server - 1U Rack-Server - 2x 8C E5-2660 2,20 GHz 128GB RAM
Dell PowerEdge R630
Dell PowerEdge R630 Rack Server ohne CPU ohne RAM 2x Kühler HDD 8Bay 2.5"
Dell PowerEdge R630 Rack Server 2x E5-2640 V4 0RAM 8x 2,5" H330 1xPSU 1HE 1U 19"
Dell PowerEdge R630 Server ohne CPU RAM DDR4 RAM 2x Kühler 8x SFF 2.5" PERC H330
Frequently asked questions
Is the R630 premium worth it?
For continuous operation, yes: the better efficiency and stronger v3/v4 CPUs claw back part of the extra cost through power savings and performance. For a lab that only runs occasionally, the cheaper R620 is usually enough.
Can I swap RAM and CPUs between the R620 and R630?
No. The R620 uses LGA2011 with DDR3 ECC, the R630 uses LGA2011-3 with DDR4 ECC. CPUs (v1/v2 vs v3/v4) and RAM are not interchangeable, so plan for that when buying.
Are both servers too loud for a living room?
Yes. Both are 1U with small, high-RPM fans and belong in a basement, closet or separate room. For quiet setups, tower models or mini PCs are the better choice.