IBM Power 740 Express (8205-E6B / E6C / E6D)
You have a Power 740 Express. Here's what that means in 2026: a dual-socket scale-out Power7 box, out of IBM hardware support since 2019, running on borrowed time on IBM i 7.3.
The Power 740 Express (8205-E6B, later E6C and E6D on the POWER7+ refresh) offered up to 16 cores across two sockets and up to 256 GB of DDR3 memory -- double the memory ceiling of the 730 in the same general form factor, making it the step-up choice for IBM i, AIX, and Linux shops that had outgrown a 730's memory capacity.
740 at a glance
Where it stands in 2026
740 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 per IBM's Power7 end-of-service documentation and IBM i support lifecycle announcements.
See our maintenance page for third-party support options and our migration comparison for what a modern Power8/Power9/Power10/Power11 replacement looks like.
Related
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.
IBM Power 750 Express (8233-E8B / 8408-E8D)
You have a Power 750 Express. Here's what that means in 2026: a 4-socket midrange Power7 box, out of IBM hardware support since 2019-2020, running on borrowed time on IBM i 7.3.
IBM Power 710 Express (8231-E1C / 8231-E1D)
You have a Power 710 Express. Here's what that means in 2026: IBM's smallest Power7 rack server, out of IBM hardware support since 2019, running on borrowed time on IBM i 7.3.
IBM Power 720 Express (8202-E4B / E4C / E4D)
You have a Power 720 Express. Here's what that means in 2026: IBM's entry single-socket tower/rack Power7 box, out of IBM hardware support since 2019, running on borrowed time on IBM i 7.3.
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.
The IBM i 7.3 Ceiling: What It Means for Power7
IBM i 7.4 dropped Power7 support entirely, making IBM i 7.3 a hard software ceiling -- and that ceiling itself lost standard support in September 2023.
Third-Party Maintenance (TPM) for Power7, Explained
TPM keeps Power7 hardware running past IBM's own support window, at a fraction of OEM cost -- but it cannot restore IBM's firmware or IBM i patch stream.