HPE Server Processors P03004-B21

This is the P03004-B21 processor kit: an Intel Xeon Gold 6240Y for the HPE ProLiant DL560 Gen10, with up to 18 cores at a 2.6 GHz base clock and a 150 W TDP.

This is a Speed Select part, which is the interesting thing about it. The same processor can be configured in firmware to run 18, 14 or 8 cores, trading core count against per-core frequency. That matters most where software is licensed per core: you can run the 8-core profile to keep a licence bill down, and move to 18 cores later if the workload shifts, without buying another processor. One part covers three sizing decisions.

Specifications

How Speed Select works on this part

Intel Speed Select Technology lets this processor present itself as 18, 14 or 8 cores, chosen in system firmware rather than by swapping hardware. Fewer active cores allows a higher sustained frequency within the same 150 W envelope, so the part can be set up to favour throughput or per-core speed depending on what it is running.

Two practical notes. The profile is set in firmware and changing it requires a reboot, so it is a sizing decision rather than something to tune hour by hour. And HPE quotes a single base clock of 2.6 GHz against this kit, so if you need the exact base and turbo frequencies at each of the three profiles, ask us and we will confirm them from Intel’s specification for the 6240Y rather than estimate them here.

This is a B21 standard option kit

The -B21 part number is HPE’s standard option kit: the processor plus the heatsink and installation hardware, supplied for fitting into a server you already own. That makes it the right part for adding a processor, replacing a failed one, or upgrading in place. The matching -L21 part is the factory-installed version ordered with a new configure-to-order server; the processor is identical, the supply route is not. If you are buying a complete new server, ask us to quote it configured with the processor already fitted.

Fitment

HPE lists this kit for the HPE ProLiant DL560 Gen10, the four-socket server in a 2U chassis, which is its whole reason for existing: four-socket core count and memory capacity at half the rack height of a traditional scale-up box. Processor kits are specific to a server generation: Gen10 processors are not interchangeable with Gen9 or with Gen10 Plus, because the socket and platform differ.

All processors in this 4-socket server must be the same model, and not every processor in the range is rated for 4-socket operation. Tell us how many sockets you intend to populate and we will confirm this part suits that configuration before despatch.

Worth checking before you order

• Adding a processor to an existing server? It must match the others exactly. Send us the part number already fitted and we will confirm the match before you order.
• Decide the Speed Select profile as part of sizing, not afterwards. Check your software’s licensing terms first — running the 8-core profile to reduce a per-core licence only helps if your vendor counts active cores rather than physical ones.
• Memory is populated per processor. Check how your DIMMs are distributed across the six channels of each socket, since an unbalanced layout costs real bandwidth.
• Update system firmware before or alongside a processor change. A server shipped on older firmware may not recognise a newer processor stepping.
• Not sure this is the right part? Tell us the server’s serial or product number and what it runs, and we will confirm the processor and quote alternatives.