Dell PowerEdge T130 review and specification

Dell s PowerEdge T130 is an extremely affordable server: it could be a great choice for those with modest needs. The base ?œ383 package includes a 3.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 CPU, but if you want more power then you can step up to a range of Xeon processors. The system we reviewed (model PET1301) includes a 3GHz quad-core Xeon E5-1220 v5, and we also upgraded the memory from the basic 4GB of DDR4 RAM to a more usable 16GB.

Whichever spec you opt for, the T130 is solidly built, and its side panel can be padlocked shut to protect against wandering fingers. There s a heap of USB 2 and USB 3 ports for conveniently adding external devices; these can be disabled from the BIOS if security is a concern.

Inside the chassis, there s room for up to four LFF hard disks. Our system came with two 1TB SATA drives fitted in a dual drive bay at the bottom of the chassis, and there s a second dual drive bay at the top with SATA and power connectors ready and waiting. Note that the top bays aren t suitable for outward-facing 5.25in devices, since the plastic bezel doesn t have knock-out panels for them. However, you can remove the small filler panel at the top and fit a low-profile optical drive.

The PowerEdge T130 packs a lot into its compact chassis, and it won t disturb you in a small office: the SPLnFFT iOS app recorded a noise level of only 37.9dB with our iPad 1m away. Power usage is low too, with the server consuming 37W with its OS in idle and peaking at 71W under extreme load. While storage features are basic, there s room to grow and a classy set of remote management tools, making this a decent first server for micro-businesses and SMBs that are tight on either space or cash.

Tower chassis , 3GHz Intel Xeon E3-1220 v5 ,16GB 2,133MHz DDR4 (max 64GB) ,2 x 1TB Dell SATA cold-swap HDDs (max 4)
Dell PERC S130 RAID controller
Supports RAID0, 1, 5, 10 ,4 x PCI-E 3 ,2 x Gigabit Ethernet ,290W fixed PSU
Dell iDRAC8 Basic controller 1yr on-site NBD warranty
175 x 435 x 360mm (WDH) ,Power 38W idle, 71W peak