A 2900 will do the job.  It is a 9th generation server, and Dell is currently selling 12th generation servers, so there are many newer models that will also do the job.  The direct replacement for the 2900 was the T710.  The T410, T510, T610, T710, T420, and T620 are all dual-socket processors newer than the 2900 that would also work (and will also cost significantly more).
Hi, apologies if this has been covered before, if it has please feel free to reply with the URL to the article :emotion-1: I am looking to purchase a tower server to run at home to set up a Home VMware lab and prereqs suggest a multicore processor with loads of memory! Suggestions in the article are a PowerEdge 2900 BUT I'd like to know if there are slightly newer towers which may be equally suited and selling online? Hey if a 2900 will still do the job please say so! :emotion-2:     
Tower server to run VMware Lab