IBM Power 730 Express (8231-E2B)
You have a Power 730 Express. Here's what that means in 2026: a dual-socket entry Power7 box, out of IBM hardware support since 2019, running on borrowed time on IBM i 7.3.
The Power 730 Express (8231-E2B) was IBM's dual-socket entry Power7 server, offering 8-, 12-, or 16-core configurations at 3.0-3.55 GHz and up to 128 GB of DDR3 memory. A well-documented 4-core, 3.0 GHz feature carries a CPW rating of 44,600, with the top processor feature reaching approximately 97,700 CPW -- among the more clearly benchmarked entry-tier Power7 configurations.
730 at a glance
Where it stands in 2026
730 lifecycle status
| Milestone | Date | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| End of standard IBM support | September 30, 2019 | IBM no longer provides hardware maintenance, machine code updates, or security patches. |
| IBM i ceiling | IBM i 7.3 only | IBM i 7.4 dropped Power7 support entirely -- there is no OS upgrade path on this hardware. |
| IBM i 7.3 standard support ended | September 30, 2023 | Paid Service Extension available through September 30, 2028; no IBM support path after that. |
Dates and CPW ratings per IBM's Power7 end-of-service documentation and published IBM i performance capabilities references.
See our maintenance page for third-party support options and our migration comparison for what a modern Power8/Power9/Power10/Power11 replacement looks like.
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Related Reading
What IBM Power7 End of Support Actually Means
End of support is not a shutdown switch. Here is exactly what changed -- and what didn't -- when IBM Power7 passed its own end-of-service dates in 2019 and 2020.
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