The DL325 G10 is a 1U single-socket server from HP. The server is compatible with AMD EPYC 7001 and 7002 series processors. In this guide, we’ll cover the installation of the core components, including the CPU, memory, and power supplies, as well as the cabling configurations required to enable full eight-bay NVMe support.

Essential Components

Before you begin assembling a DL325 Gen10 from an empty chassis, it is important to identify the hardware required to turn the chassis into a functioning server. This section covers the major components that should be installed and verified before moving on to the rest of the build.

The goal is to start with a bare chassis and make sure you have everything necessary to power the system on, recognize the installed hardware, and eventually install an operating system.

Motherboard

The motherboard should already be installed in the chassis and securely fastened in place. It serves as the central connection point for the server’s major hardware components.

The processor and memory modules are installed directly onto the motherboard, while the power supplies connect to it through the rear of the chassis. PCIe risers attach to the motherboard to provide expansion slots, and the front storage backplane connects to the system board and storage controllers. The hot-swap fan assembly also connects to the motherboard.

Before installing additional components, make sure the motherboard is properly seated and secured inside the chassis. A loose or incorrectly installed system board can prevent the server from powering on or cause other hardware to malfunction.

Backplane and Cables

The front NVME storage backplane is a critical component of the DL325 Gen10 8-bay configuration. It provides the connections required for the front-mounted NVME drives to communicate with the system while also supplying power to the drive bays.

The backplane requires several connections to operate correctly. The 8-bay NVMe configuration requires specific PCIe cabling between the backplane and the motherboard or PCIe expansion hardware.

For an 8-bay NVMe configuration, particular attention should be paid to the PCIe cables and their individual port assignments. The DL325 Gen10 uses multiple cable assemblies to connect the NVMe backplane to the system’s PCIe resources, and the cables must be connected to the correct ports for all eight drive bays to function.

The physical appearance of some of these cables can be similar, so it is important to verify the correct HPE part number and intended connection before installing them. A cable that physically fits a connector is not necessarily the correct cable for a particular backplane or port.

Before proceeding with the build, inspect the backplane and confirm that all required signal, PCIe, and power connections are present and properly seated. The 8 NVME configuration doesn’t have the traditional signal cable connecting the backplane to the motherboard. Instead, all signal cables are technically the NVME cables. You will however need the following power cable. 

Correct cabling is essential for the server to detect and communicate with the NVMe drives installed in the front bays.

To enable NVME support on all 8 front drive bays will require the following 4 cables:

Cooling

The DL325 Gen10 uses a combination of fan modules, a processor heatsink, and an air shroud to maintain proper operating temperatures throughout the system. These components work together to move air through the chassis and remove heat from the processor, memory, and other internal hardware.

The fan modules are individually installed into the chassis and connect to the system board using dedicated fan cables. HPE identifies these as hot-plug fans, allowing an individual fan to be replaced while the server is running. The replacement procedure involves seating the fan in its guide pins and reconnecting its cable to the system board.

The DL325 Gen10 uses different fan configurations depending on the chassis and cooling requirements. HPE lists 878537-001 as a standard fan module and P06973-001 as another supported fan module. The high-performance dual-rotor P04998-001 is recommended for NVME configurations.

The processor heatsink mounts directly above the AMD EPYC processor and transfers heat away from the CPU into the airflow generated by the fans. The air baffle directs airflow through the processor and memory areas, helping ensure that cooling air passes over the components that require it. HPE lists the DL325 Gen10 air baffle as P07015-001. For an 8-bay NVMe build, the cooling system should be configured with the appropriate high-performance fans, processor heatsink, and air baffle before the server is placed into service.

Risers

The DL325 Gen10 supports a primary PCIe riser and an optional secondary low-profile riser, providing additional PCIe expansion slots for network adapters, storage controllers, GPUs, and other expansion cards. HPE’s official parts documentation lists P06514-001 as the primary riser board and P07016-001 as the secondary low-profile riser.

The primary riser is installed in the main riser cage and provides two PCIe expansion slots. The riser uses one PCIe x16 slot and one PCIe x8 slot, giving the DL325 Gen10 additional expansion capability while retaining the compact 1U form factor. Keep in mind the riser cage and the actual PCB board are 2 separate part numbers. However, when buying second hand they are usually sold as a complete set and listed as part number P04969-001.

The secondary riser is an optional low-profile riser that provides an additional PCIe slot. HPE lists the DL325 Gen10 PCIe low-profile riser kit as P04849-B21, with P07016-001 being the corresponding spare-part number for the riser board.

The riser boards install into dedicated connectors on the system board and are housed in their respective riser cages. When building a DL325 Gen10 from an empty chassis, make sure the appropriate riser cage, riser board, and expansion-slot blanks are installed for the desired configuration.

Building the server

Assuming you have verified the presence of all essential components it’s time to build the server. I always start with the CPU for a number of reasons. The first reason is to inspect the CPU pins. If the CPU pins are in any way damaged I’m not going to continue adding components because I don’t want to put a damaged server into production. Bent or smashed CPU pins can cause immediate problems with memory and PCIe devices.

For this build you will need the following tools:

• T20 bit
• Phillips #2
• Compressed air
• Thermal paste

Installing the CPU

There are a few layers of the CPU assembly that sit between you and the CPU socket. The first obvious thing in your way is the heatsink. The heatsink is secured with 4 T20 screws. Unscrew all 4 screws and remove the heatsink to expose the force frame. The next layer is the force frame. This is held down by three T20 captive screws. Unscrew these screws to allow the force frame to spring out.

Beneath the force frame will be a rail frame and a carrier frame. The carrier frame (blue in these pictures) is what will attach directly to the CPU. Once the CPU is in the carrier frame it will then slide into the rail frame. The rail frame essentially aligns the CPU with the socket.

The rail frame also snaps out of place and attached to a hinge mechanism similar to the force frame.

Here is a shot of both the force frame and the rail frame in their upward position:

Remove the blue carrier frame from the rail frame and attach the CPU. Align the arrow on the carrier frame with the arrow on the CPU. Take careful stock of the condition of the carrier frame – the clips in particular. If the clips are damaged are snapped off, the carrier frame will be unable to hold the CPU in place. In this case the CPU could fall out of the frame and potentially land right on the socket and damage pins in the process. Ensure the carrier frame is strong enough to hold the CPU before installing into the rail frame.

Once the CPU is in the carrier frame you can install it in the rail frame:

The rail frame can now be swung back down and clipped into position. This will align the CPU with the socket.

Now the force frame is screwed down:

At this point it’s time to apply a bit of thermal paste:

Now install the heatsink:

Installing the memory

Installing memory can get a bit tricky for this model. HPE has different guidelines for both one and two CPU configurations. Beyond that, there’s also different rules dependent on the exact generation of AMD EPYC CPU. For example, the population rules are different between first generation (7xx1) and second generation (7xx2)  processors.

Here I am using a first generation AMD EPYC CPU so I’ll use the following table as reference.

In this case I have 2 DIMMS to install so referring to the guide I’ll populate slots 1 and 16:

Installing the NVME cables

This server requires an NVME backplane and 4 NVME cables to enable NVME support. One end of the cable attaches to the backplane and the other end goes to the motherboard. On the backplane you will see ports 1 – 4. Each cable will also be labeled appropriately based on what port they go to. Just match up the labels and you’re good to go. The cables for ports 1, 2 and 3 will route to the left side of the chassis while the cable for port 4 will route to the right side.

Here you can see the cables for ports 1, 2, and 3 plugged into the backplane. There is a metal entry point to route that routes them to the motherboard.

Look for the termination points by the blue Smart Array battery compartment.

Finally, port 4 sits by itself on the other side of the backplane and routes along the right side of the chassis instead of the left.

Installing the NDC

HPE has a dedicated spot on the motherboard to install their NDC (Network Daughter Card.) Look for the slot on the upper right side of the chassis.

Locate the installation point. You will have to remove the primary riser 1 to access the NDC location:

Align the NDC:

Firmly press the card into the slot:

Tighten the thumbscrew by hand or with a T15 bit:

Reinstall the riser.

Installing the power supplies

The last set of components to install are the power supplies. You should always install both power supplies to ensure redundancy.

To install, simply slide them in the back.

You will encounter resistance as the power supply contacts the motherboard. Firmly press the power supply until you hear the unit click into place.

The R740 is a 2U server from Dell compatible with Intel Xeon Scalable processors. The platform supports a wide range of configuration options, including several different front-drive configurations. The server we’ll focus on today is the Dell PowerEdge R740 8 Bay Small Form Factor, which supports up to eight 2.5-inch SAS or SATA hard drives and solid-state drives through the front drive bays. This particular configuration does not support NVMe drives in the front bays, nor does the R740 support the mid-bay or rear storage options found on the R740xd.

Essential Components

Before you begin assembling an R740 from an empty chassis, it is important to identify the hardware required to turn the chassis into a functioning server. This section covers the major components that should be installed and verified before moving on to the rest of the build.

The goal is to start with a bare chassis and make sure you have everything necessary to power the system on, recognize the installed hardware, and eventually install an operating system.

Motherboard

The motherboard should already be installed in the chassis and securely fastened in place. It serves as the central connection point for nearly all of the server’s hardware.

The processors and memory modules are installed directly onto the motherboard, while the power supplies connect to it through the rear of the chassis. PCIe risers attach to the motherboard to provide expansion slots, and the front storage backplane connects to the system board and storage controller. The hot-swap fan assembly also connects to the motherboard.

Before installing additional components, make sure the motherboard is properly seated and secured inside the chassis. A loose or incorrectly installed system board can prevent the server from powering on or cause other hardware to malfunction.

Backplane and Cables

The front storage backplane is another critical component of the R740 8-bay configuration. It provides the connections that allow the front-mounted drives to communicate with the server’s storage controller while also supplying power to the drive bays.

The backplane requires several connections to operate correctly. These include the signal cable, which connects the backplane to the motherboard, and the power cable, which supplies electrical power to the backplane. A SAS PERC or PCIe cable is also required to connect the backplane to the server’s RAID or HBA controller.

For the R740 8-bay configuration, pay particular attention to the specific cables required for the backplane and the storage controller installed in your system. Dell used different cable assemblies depending on the chassis and storage configuration, so having a cable that physically fits does not necessarily mean it is the correct cable for the configuration.

Before proceeding with the build, inspect the backplane and confirm that the required signal, power, and SAS connections are present and properly seated. These connections are essential for the server to detect and communicate with the drives installed in the front
bays.

Cooling

The R740 uses a combination of fans, processor heatsinks, and an air shroud to maintain proper operating temperatures throughout the system. These components work together to move air through the chassis and remove heat from the processors, memory, and other internal hardware.

The fan modules are the most visible part of the cooling system. The fans first install into an assembly cage before the entire unit is placed into the chassis and locked into place. Like many other Dell PowerEdge servers, the R740 uses orange fan housings to identify hot-swappable components.

The R740 is available with both standard-performance and high-performance fan modules. The correct fan type depends on the hardware configuration and thermal requirements of the system. Higher-powered processors (>165W TDP) and other configurations with greater thermal demands may require the high-performance fans. While not applicable to the R740 8 Bay model, installation of a rear flex bay on the R740xd also requires high performance fans. Using standard performance fans when the configuration requires high performance can result in excessive RPM and a lot more noise from the server. With this particular model the only specification you should pay attention to is the TDP of your processor. Since this model does not support NVME or extra storage flex bays these configurations won’t be taken into consideration.

All six fan modules should be installed for normal operation of the R740. The server’s fan configuration is different from the R640, so make sure you are using the correct number and type of fans for the R740 chassis. Running the system with missing fans can result in cooling problems, system warnings, or logged hardware errors. A missing fan will cause the other fans to spin faster.

The processors also require compatible heatsinks. A system with two processors will need two heatsinks, with standard and high-performance options available. Standard heatsinks are low profile and use an aluminum construction, while high-performance heatsinks use a copper contact surface to improve heat transfer from the processor.

The appropriate heatsink should be matched to the processor and overall system configuration. Each heatsink also includes a black plastic retention clip on its underside. This clip secures the processor against the heatsink and helps maintain the proper position during installation. The retention clip is part of the heatsink assembly and should remain installed.

The R740 actually supports 3 different kinds of heatsinks. Because of its 2U design it not only supports the low/high performance heatsinks compatible with 1U systems like the R640, but also 2U high performance heatsinks made specifically by Dell for their 2U servers.

The final major component of the R740’s cooling system is the air shroud. Positioned over the motherboard, the shroud helps channel airflow from the fan assembly through the areas containing the processors, memory, and other heat-producing components. Operating the server without the shroud can disrupt the intended airflow pattern and reduce cooling performance.

The fans, processor heatsinks, and air shroud are all essential parts of the R740’s thermal management system. Before powering on a server assembled from an empty chassis, verify that the appropriate fan modules and heatsinks are installed and that the air shroud is securely in place.

Risers

The R740 has many options for risers. Some risers (riser 1 as an example) have multiple variations. Certain variations prevent the installation of components like the Dell Mini Mono RAID/HBA controller. In this section we will discuss the options and features of the available risers for the R740 platform. Risers compatible with the R740 are also compatible with the R740xd.

Riser 1A

Riser 2A

Riser 2A is a 3 slot riser with two x8 slots and a single x16 slot at the top. If your chassis does not have this riser you may have one of the low profile risers below. Low profile risers are not that relevant for this particular server unless you’re selecting a riser based on the cost of buying second hand. For the R740xd they’re more relevant because you cannot use Riser 2A with something like a rear flex bay. If such a flex bay is used, a low profile riser can be installed to add an additional x8 or x16 slot to the server.The R740 8 bay SFF server does not allow for a rear flex bay so it makes more sense to install riser 2A and forget about the low profile risers.

Riser 3 A/B

Building the Server

Once you have confirmed that the R740 chassis contains the necessary hardware, you can begin assembling the system. Before installing every component, it is a good idea to perform an initial power-on test using only the hardware required for the server to complete POST.

At a minimum, the system will need:

• At least one CPU
• Memory
• At least one power supply

Required Tools

Tools needed to build a Dell PowerEdge R740

Fortunately, assembling the R740 does not require a large collection of specialized tools. You should have a Phillips #2 screwdriver, a T30 Torx bit, thermal paste, and either an electric air blower or a can of compressed air available before beginning the build.

Keep in mind that the R740 can operate with a single processor, but doing so limits some of the server’s functionality. Certain PCIe slots and risers are connected to CPU2 and will not be available when the second processor is not installed. If you plan to use additional expansion cards, verify the PCIe slot configuration before deciding to build the server with only one CPU.

Installing the Processors

The R740 has two processor sockets located near the center of the motherboard, identified as CPU1 and CPU2. Depending on the condition of the chassis, the sockets may already contain processors and heatsinks, or they may be covered by protective CPU socket covers.

If you are installing a processor into a previously used system, first remove the existing heatsink and processor if necessary. If the socket is empty, remove the protective socket cover before installing the CPU. Make careful note of the orientation arrows. The processor can only install one way. Installing the processor upside down can damage the CPU pins and render the server unusable. Blow out any dust that could be in the sockets.

Take care when working around the processor sockets. The socket contains delicate contacts that can be damaged if the processor or surrounding hardware is handled improperly. Avoid touching the contacts and make sure the processor is correctly oriented before securing it in the socket.

The R740 uses a processor retention mechanism that secures the CPU in place before the heatsink is installed. Once the processor is seated correctly, apply the appropriate thermal paste and install the corresponding heatsink.

If you are building a dual-processor system, repeat the procedure for CPU2, using a processor supported by the same generation and configuration as CPU1.

Installing the Memory

The R740 has six memory channels per processor, with two DIMM slots available on each channel. This gives each processor access to 12 DIMM slots, for a total of 24 DIMM slots in a dual-processor configuration.

The R740 uses white DIMM slots as the primary slots and black slots as the secondary slots. When installing memory, populate the primary white slots in each memory channel before adding DIMMs to the secondary black slots.

For the best memory performance, distribute DIMMs across as many memory channels as possible rather than installing two DIMMs in a single channel while leaving other channels unused. In a dual-processor system, memory should also be distributed evenly between CPU1 and CPU2 whenever possible.

For example, if you have eight identical DIMMs to install in a dual-processor R740, a balanced configuration would be to install four DIMMs on CPU1 and four on CPU2, using the primary slots in each processor’s memory channels.

When adding memory to an existing configuration, try to maintain the same DIMM capacity, rank characteristics, and memory type across corresponding channels. The R740 supports DDR4 ECC RDIMMs and LRDIMMs, but RDIMMs and LRDIMMs should not be mixed within the same system.

Here I have a total of 4 sticks of RAM. I will evenly distribute 2 of them to CPU1 and another 2 to CPU 2. (A1, A2, B1, B2) In Dell systems, A represents CPU1 and B represents CPU2. If you have trouble finding the DIMMs you can refer to your servers air shroud.

Installing the NDC

The NDC or network daughter card provides the server with various network ports and speeds depending on the exact part. The installation is the exact same no matter which NDC you have.

Start by removing riser 2. This will expose the proprietary Dell Mezzanine port.

Installing a RAID or HBA controller

If you have storage drives and you want them exposed to the system you will need to install a RAID or HBA controller. An HBA controller will simply pass the drives through to whatever operating system you are running. If you have a RAID controller you will need to configure the drives as part of a RAID array. Even a single drive must have a RAID 0 applied to it. Alternatively, a RAID controller can also be configured to operate in HBA mode, although this is usually not recommended especially if you plan on using software RAID solutions like ZFS.

There are 2 types of controllers you can install in the R740. The first type is a PCIe controller. This type of controller installs into any standard PCIe slot. In this case, the card will install into of the risers. Riser 2 is the recommended riser to install such a card. The second type of card is a mini mono card. This card has a proprietary connection to the motherboard. Functionally, both these cards are the same. The advantage of the mini mono controller is it doesn’t take up a PCIe slot in the risers. It is still a PCIe device at the core but its connection to the system is different than a typical PCIe card.

We will cover the installation of both types of cards.

Click for PCIe RAID/HBA instructions

Click for mini mono RAID/HBA instructions

Installing the power supplies

Lastly, we will install the power supplies. This is a pretty easy step. Grab a power supply and either reach over the server and slide them through the rear slots or walk around to the back. There are 2 slots for power supplies and they slide in. When sliding them in apply a bit more pressure at the end to ensure they properly connect to the motherboard.