Dell 0NH4P R710 Server Motherboard

Description

The Dell 0NH4P (or NH4P) is the Gen II (Generation 2) system board for the PowerEdge R710 server. This revision is highly sought after because it provides enhanced power capabilities and native support for the Intel Xeon 5600 (Westmere-EP) processor series, which were not fully supported by the earlier Gen I boards.

Core Specifications

• Processor Support: * Dual LGA1366 sockets.

  • Supports Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 series processors.

  • Specifically engineered to handle high-wattage (130W) CPUs like the X5680 and X5690.

• Memory Architecture:

  • 18 DIMM slots total (9 per processor).

  • Supports DDR3 Registered (RDIMM) or Unbuffered (UDIMM).

  • Maximum capacity: 288GB (using 16GB RDIMMs) or up to 192GB (using LRDIMMs).

• Chipset: Intel 5520.

Expansion & Connectivity

The R710 is the “workhorse” of its era, and the 0NH4P board reflects that with robust I/O:

• PCIe Slots: 4 x PCIe G2 slots (standard configuration via two risers).

• Storage Interface: Integrated PERC slot for dedicated RAID controllers (H700, H200, or PERC 6/i).

• Networking: Quad (4x) integrated Broadcom 5709 Gigabit Ethernet ports with TOE (TCP Offload Engine) support.

• Management: Integrated iDRAC6 (Lifecycle Controller) for out-of-band management.

Technical Interfaces (Rear I/O)

Why the “Gen II” Board Matters

There are three main versions of the R710 motherboard (M147H for Gen I, 0NH4P for Gen II, and 0XDXC for Gen III). The 0NH4P is the most common upgrade path because:

1. Updated Voltage Regulators: It can handle the power draw of the 130W “X” series Xeon processors.

2. Compatibility: It resolves the “Unsupported CPU” errors often seen when putting 5600-series chips into original 2009-era R710 chassis.

3. Stability: Improved thermal management and firmware compatibility for modern SAS-2 drives.

Peer Tip: If you are replacing a Gen I board with this Gen II board, make sure your Power Supplies are at least 870W (Silver or Gold rated) if you plan on using high-performance X5600 series processors, as the 570W units may not be sufficient.