Dell PowerEdge R7725 Review: The Swiss-Army Knife of AI Compute and NVMe Storage

Dell PowerEdge R7725 review: dual-socket AMD EPYC 9005, Gen5 PCIe, up to 40 E3.S NVMe, plus flexible GPU/CXL options.

The Dell PowerEdge R7725 is part of Dell’s latest generation of PowerEdge servers. The R7725 is one of the densest and most capable machines, configurable to fit any enterprise workloads that demand exceptional processing density and acceleration capabilities. This 2U rack server features AMD’s latest 5th Gen EPYC 9005 processors, handling compute-intensive and data-heavy workloads with ease. The R7725 excels in AI/ML, high-performance computing, and virtualization, making it ideal for demanding environments.

Dell positions the R7725 as a platform for AI and machine learning workloads, supporting this with hardware designed explicitly for PCIe expansion and acceleration. The system accommodates up to two 450W double-width GPUs or six single-width accelerators, offering flexibility for intensive computing tasks. With PCIe Gen5 connectivity, dense NVMe storage options, and up to 6TB of DDR5 memory, the R7725 is purpose-built to meet the needs of modern AI and HPC environments.

Dell PowerEdge R7725 Specifications

The computational core of the PowerEdge R7725 is centered on AMD’s EPYC 9005 processor series, representing a significant microarchitectural advancement through the Zen 5 architecture. These processors deliver up to 192 cores per socket with maximum thermal design power ratings of 500W, enabling unprecedented parallel processing capabilities for enterprise workloads.

Architecture and Platform Enhancements in the PowerEdge R7725

The PowerEdge R7725 introduces several platform-level advancements that make it more than just a refresh. The system is powered by two AMD EPYC 9005 Series processors, offering up to 192 Zen 5 cores per socket and a maximum TDP of 500W per CPU. Additionally, the system supports up to 6TB of DDR5 memory across 24 DIMM slots, delivering the memory bandwidth required to keep pace with modern HPC workloads.

A significant enhancement is the platform’s support for Compute Express Link (CXL) 2.0, which enables a new class of memory expansion and cache-coherent devices. While AMD EPYC 9005 CPUs support all three types of CXL 2.0 devices, Dell restricts CXL 2.0 support on R7725 to Type 3 (memory expansion) devices. This measure streamlines validation and ensures greater system reliability in enterprise environments.

The R7725 is fully compliant with OCP DC-MHS (Open Compute Project Data Center – Modular Hardware System). This means it adheres to a consistent mechanical design across platforms, with standardized connector locations and form factors that simplify integration and validation. These features help streamline hardware integration and system validation, making it easier to deploy and maintain infrastructure at scale.

Altogether, these updates make the PowerEdge R7725 more than just a dual-socket powerhouse. It’s a platform designed to support the modularity, speed, and flexibility required by next-generation workloads.

Dell PowerEdge R7725 Design and Build

The PowerEdge R7725 features Dell’s consistent design approach, focusing on serviceability, airflow, and a solid build. The chassis is designed for tool-less access, allowing for efficient routine maintenance and component swaps without requiring downtime or specialized tools. A lockable front bezel is available as an option, offering both physical security and a cleaner, more uniform appearance. It’s easy to detach when quick access to the front bays or internal components is needed. Functionally, the overall layout and chassis design closely resemble those of other servers in Dell’s 17th-generation server lineup.

Once the bezel is removed, the front layout is easily accessible and manageable. On the right-hand side, you’ll find the main control cluster, which includes the system power button, a USB-C iDRAC port for easy direct out-of-band management, and an iDRAC status indicator button.

Dell PowerEdge R7725 Front Bay Storage Configuration Options

Compared to its predecessors, the Dell PowerEdge R7725 offers greater configurability, with an extensive range of front bay options to accommodate any requirement. For minimal or compute-intensive setups, the system can be equipped with traditional 2.5-inch boot drives or simple U.2 NVMe configurations. Users can upgrade to more versatile configurations, such as up to 24 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA bays or hybrid layouts that combine 16 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA with 8 x U.2 NVMe drives. These hybrid configurations are particularly well-suited for environments that require tiered storage or cache layering.

The platform also supports 12 x 3.5-inch SAS/SATA bays for traditional high-capacity use cases, offering compatibility with spinning disks or large SATA SSDs. For more performance-oriented builds, the R7725 includes support for dense EDSFF configurations, with up to 40 x E3.S Gen5 NVMe bays available.

Our PowerEdge R7725 system was configured with 40 EDSFF E3.S NVMe drives, utilizing PCIe Gen5 with x2 lane connectivity. Although Gen5 x4 configurations are common in enterprise systems, our approach optimizes both bandwidth and lane usage. With Gen5’s increased per-lane throughput, x2 connectivity still provides strong performance, while freeing PCIe lanes for other critical components such as accelerators or additional I/O.

The drives are fully hot-swappable, enabling in-place replacements or capacity expansions without requiring a system shutdown. This design enhances serviceability and supports dynamic scaling in production environments. A dedicated ventilation channel between the drive banks regulates airflow, allowing the system to effectively manage thermal loads without compromising drive density or performance.

We really love Dell’s new E3S drive backplane configuration, which offers even more airflow to the drives, even with an extremely dense 40-drive configuration, and allows for sufficient pass-through air to provide ample cooling for add-in PCIe cards in the back.

PCIe Expansion

PCIe expansion support is distributed across three riser slots, which accommodate a combination of full-height PCIe add-in cards and OCP NICs. The Dell PowerEdge R7725 supports multiple PCIe riser configurations, providing enterprises with the flexibility to customize expansion options to fit a wide range of performance and deployment needs. One of the available configurations, pictured below, includes 2 x16 full-height dual-width Gen5 slots along with support for a second OCP NIC. This server is equipped with dual 450W NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs.

This setup is ideal for standard use cases that require high-speed networking or light accelerator workloads without overpopulating the chassis. For builds that demand higher PCIe density, the R7725 can be equipped with 4 x16 full-height Gen5 slots and a second OCP NIC. This configuration is ideal for systems that require multiple add-in cards.

Removing the top cover of the R7725 reveals Dell’s typical well-organized, airflow-optimized internal design, which we come to expect with the PowerEdge line. One of the first things that stands out is the set of extensive airflow guides (black plastic shrouds that cover the central portion of the board). These are designed to direct air efficiently over the CPU sockets, memory DIMMs, and expansion cards, helping thermal consistency under load. PCIe risers are positioned toward the rear and labeled for easy identification. Dell continues to utilize its familiar blue tabs and clips throughout the chassis, which allow for tool-free servicing and easy component access.

A configuration is also available for liquid-cooled deployments. It retains the same 2 x16 full-height Gen5 slots and second OCP NIC but is validated for compatibility with direct liquid cooling (DLC) systems. This ensures the system has adequate spacing, thermal accommodation, and airflow alignment for high-power components within a DLC-optimized chassis.

Dell BOSS and Management Modules

A key feature of Dell’s new 17th Generation line of servers is complete DC-MHS compliance. This includes the I/O, which is located along the lower rear of the server on the DC-SCM (Secure Control Module). The SCM includes two USB 3.1 ports, a VGA port for local display access, and a dedicated BMC Ethernet port for out-of-band management via iDRAC.

For deployments utilizing Dell’s modular boot infrastructure, the BOSS-N1 DC-MHS slot enables the installation of M.2-based OS drives with RAID support. These are available with a hot-swap configuration, featuring well-designed sleds with integrated heatsinks for improved heat dissipation. Alternatively, an internal-access-only BOSS card can be ordered.

Power

On the power side, the server features dual hot-swappable power supply bays, positioned on each side of the rear panel. The R7725 offers a broad selection of power supply options, including hot-plug modular units with capacities of 800W, 1100W, 1500W, and 3200W. Titanium and Platinum efficiency ratings are supported. Supported configurations include fully redundant (1+1), non-redundant (2+0), and single PSU (1+0) modes. For 200–240V AC environments, high-line 3200W Titanium PSUs are available, and 1400W -48VDC power supplies are also supported.

Dell iDRAC10

iDRAC (Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller) is Dell’s embedded out-of-band management solution, allowing remote monitoring, firmware updates, and troubleshooting without requiring physical access to the server. The Dell PowerEdge R7725 builds on the feature-rich iDRAC 9 with the next-generation iDRAC 10. With the latest iDRAC 10, the PowerEdge R7725 benefits from several updates aimed at improving security, control, and usability while seamlessly integrating through the DC-SCM. iDRAC 10 also supports advanced automation and monitoring capabilities, empowering IT administrators to efficiently manage large-scale deployments without compromising performance or reliability. This automation allows enterprises to deploy these servers in AI factories, enabling them to be racked, fully configured, and operational within minutes.

Security is a fundamental aspect of Dell’s management features, with robust pre-boot and boot verification mechanisms in place. Utilizing silicon-based Root of Trust technology, iDRAC 10 ensures that all firmware, including BIOS and iDRAC, is cryptographically verified before execution. This immutable hardware-based security measure protects against malware tampering and supply chain attacks, providing a secure foundation for system operations. Additionally, the R7725 incorporates quantum-safe booting protocols to mitigate emerging cryptographic threats, further solidifying its role in safeguarding critical infrastructure.

Dell’s commitment to supply chain security is demonstrated in the R7725 design, which utilizes a comprehensive chain-of-trust authentication process. Each hardware component undergoes thorough verification through cryptographic signatures embedded during the manufacturing process. This ensures that only authorized firmware and components are used, reducing risks of unauthorized modifications or counterfeit parts.

Dell PowerEdge R7725 Performance

To assess the performance capabilities of the Dell PowerEdge R7725, we conducted a comparative evaluation against two servers we have examined previously: the single-socket PowerEdge R7715 and the dual-socket Intel-based PowerEdge R770. As previously noted, our R7725 was equipped with dual AMD EPYC 9965 processors, providing a total of 384 cores. The R7715 featured a single AMD EPYC 9955P processor with 96 cores, whereas the R770 was equipped with dual Intel Xeon 6787P processors, offering a total of 172 cores.

Test System Specifications

• Platform: Dell PowerEdge R7725
• CPU: Dual AMD EPYC 9965 192C
• Memory: 24x 64GB 6400 MT Total: 1.5 TB
• Storage: Boss RAID1

y-cruncher

y-cruncher is a multi-threaded, scalable program that can compute Pi and other mathematical constants to trillions of digits. Since its launch in 2009, it has become a popular benchmarking and stress-testing application for overclockers and hardware enthusiasts.

In the y-cruncher benchmark, which measures computation time across progressively larger digit calculations, the Dell PowerEdge R7725 with dual AMD EPYC 9965 processors demonstrates its strength as workloads scale. At the smallest test sizes, such as 1 and 2.5 billion digits, the R7725 trailed the Intel-based R770, which completed those runs faster. However, as the complexity increased, the advantage shifted.

By the 5- and 10-billion-digit marks, the R7725 closed the gap, running nearly even with the R770. Once the workload reached 25 billion digits and beyond, the 7725 established a clear lead, completing the 100 billion digit calculation in 481 seconds compared to 569 seconds on the R770.

This progression highlights how the R7725’s dual 192-core architecture is optimized for massive, compute-intensive operations, scaling more efficiently as demands increase. While the R770 excels at shorter runs, the 7725 ultimately delivers the best performance when the workload intensifies, making it well-suited for scientific and high-performance computing environments where sustained parallelism is critical.

Blender 4.0

Blender 4.0 is an open-source 3D modeling application. This benchmark was run using the Blender Benchmark CLI utility. The score is measured in samples per minute, with higher values indicating better performance.

In Blender 4.0 CPU rendering, measured in samples per minute, the Dell PowerEdge R7725 with dual AMD EPYC 9965 processors demonstrated a commanding lead across all tested scenes.

In the Monster workload, the R7725 achieved 4,304 samples per minute, nearly double the 2,179 samples posted by the Intel-based R770. Similar trends are observed in Junkshop and Classroom, where the R7725 delivered 2,870 and 2,079 samples, respectively, significantly outperforming the R770’s 1,433 and 984 results.

Even when simultaneous multithreading (SMT) is disabled, the R7725 maintained a decisive advantage, producing 3,193 samples in Monster and 2,174 in Junkshop, again outpacing the Intel system. The gap increased further against the R7715, which consistently posted lower results across SMT and non-SMT tests. What stands out is the R7725’s ability to sustain high throughput regardless of workload type, highlighting the scalability of its dual 192-core configuration.

This efficiency makes the platform especially attractive for rendering environments, where faster frame completion translates directly to shorter production timelines and improved resource utilization. By maintaining significant performance margins in standard and non-SMT workloads, the R7725 positions itself as the most capable system for high-performance 3D rendering tasks.

Phoronix Benchmarks

Phoronix Test Suite is an open-source, automated benchmarking platform that supports over 450 test profiles and 100+ test suites via OpenBenchmarking.org. It handles everything from installing dependencies to running tests and collecting results, making it ideal for performance comparisons, hardware validation, and continuous integration. We will focus on comparing the R7725 and other tested servers against Stream, 7-Zip, Linux kernel build, Apache, and OpenSSL tests.

Stream Memory Bandwidth

In the Stream benchmark, which measures raw memory throughput, the PowerEdge R7725 posted an impressive 883 GB/s, nearly doubling the 472 GB/s of the Intel-based R770 and more than tripling the 273 GB/s of the R7715. This result highlights the advantage of the R7725’s dual 192-core design, paired with its vast memory bandwidth, a critical factor for workloads such as scientific modeling or AI training that are heavily dependent on sustained memory performance.

7-Zip Compression

Compression benchmarks further highlight the R7725’s compute density. With 1.33 million MIPs per second, the system more than doubled the performance of the R770 at 628k MIPs, while also leaving the R7715 far behind at 413k MIPs. For data-heavy environments where compression and decompression are frequent, such as backup, archival, or scientific data pipelines, the R7725 delivered a substantial boost in throughput.

Kernel Compile

Kernel compile times offer a practical insight into code-intensive workloads. Here, the R7725 finished in 139 seconds, a marked improvement over the 189 seconds of the R770 and 217 seconds of the R7715. Faster compile times mean developers can iterate more quickly, making the R7725 highly attractive for large-scale software engineering and continuous integration environments.

Apache Web Server

The Apache benchmark introduces a twist: the single-socket R7715 surprisingly led with over 166,000 requests per second, outpacing both dual-socket systems. The R7725, however, still demonstrated solid performance at nearly 97,000 requests per second, ahead of the R770’s 60,000. This suggests that while the R7725 excels in heavy parallel workloads, web-serving scenarios may favor different architectural trade-offs.

OpenSSL Verification

Cryptography is another area where the R7725 dominates, verifying more than 4.4 trillion operations per second. This is double the throughput of the R770’s 2.2 trillion and over three times the R7715’s 1.3 trillion. For environments with significant security and encryption demands, such as secure communications or financial services, the R7725’s ability to process cryptographic operations at this scale makes it a standout choice.

Conclusion

The Dell PowerEdge R7725 represents a solid generational leap in Dell’s dual-socket AMD server lineup. Powered by AMD’s latest EPYC 9005 processors, this 2U platform brings together impressive CPU core density, high-speed DDR5 memory support, and versatile I/O options, including full PCIe Gen5 lanes across risers and front-bay NVMe storage. From a hardware perspective, the R7725 clearly delivers the scalability and raw performance required by today’s compute-intensive infrastructure.

Our benchmark testing reinforced this capability, with the R7725 consistently outperforming its predecessor across various demanding workloads. Its increased core count and enhanced memory bandwidth showed measurable benefits in compute-intensive applications, particularly multi-threaded math workloads and 3D rendering tasks. Additionally, its support for GPU accelerators, PCIe Gen5, and extensive NVMe storage demonstrated the flexibility required in mixed-use scenarios. Complementary technologies like CXL 2.0 memory expansion and the platform’s modular OCP DC-MHS compliance further contribute to its future-proof design.

Overall, the R7725 emerges as an excellent choice for enterprises running resource-demanding workloads across virtualization, HPC, analytics, and especially AI/ML pipelines. Its dense GPU options, advanced storage capabilities, and expansive memory support offer the flexibility needed to address both current and emerging infrastructure needs. Whether deployed as an individual high-performance compute node or as part of a larger, scale-out environment, the R7725 is a comprehensive and versatile addition to Dell’s 17th-generation server portfolio.

R7725 Configurator

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