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Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs HPE Apollo Systems comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerEdge C- Series
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Blade Servers (6th)
HPE Apollo Systems
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Rack Servers (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge C- Series is 19.3%, down from 26.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 21.4%, up from 20.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Density Optimized Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge C- Series19.3%
HPE Apollo Systems21.4%
Other59.3%
Density Optimized Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Sanjay Singh Bisht - PeerSpot reviewer
Server Administrator at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
High-density servers have maximized compute efficiency and have powered critical workloads reliably
Regarding how Dell PowerEdge C- Series can be improved, I would highlight a couple of areas. While it's excellent for dense and scale-out workloads, it isn't perfect for every scenario, and the complex I/O and component upgrades pose challenges since each server node is compressed into a narrow removable sled, making physical space inside the node tight. Replacing components requires pulling the entire node out and dismantling the protective casing. PCI expansion is also limited compared to standard 2U single-node servers such as the PowerEdge R700 series, which can hold up to eight PCI slots. Dell PowerEdge C- Series typically supports only two to three slots, restricting the addition of multiple specialized network interface cards. Finally, the initial capital expenditure is heavy; acquiring a PowerEdge C chassis and its multiple sleds requires significant upfront commitment, making it less cost-efficient if you need one or two nodes now, as you generally need to commit to the ecosystem upfront.
Gökhan  DURMAZ - PeerSpot reviewer
Account Manager at TD SYNNEX
High-quality integration and strong support have optimized our rack server operations
HPE Apollo Systems is a good product because it has better support and best quality with integrity. When I speak about integrity, I speak about GPU integration or other integrations such as GPU integration, backup software integration, and hypervisor integration. Regarding the integration of high-speed interconnectors in HPE Apollo Systems, they impact computational tasks because the high-speed interconnect affects performance. I don't remember the specifics. Regarding the cooling technologies, they help to reduce operational costs. The positive impact I see from HPE Apollo Systems is that support is good and quality is good. In general, HPE Apollo Systems appears to be for rack servers with some optimization capabilities.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"With the tool, we can easily upgrade and ensure compatibility between operating systems, hardwares and drivers. Among other features, the hardware also stands out because it is certified and aligns with the processor manufacturers like Intel. This enables them to offer the latest options which are not available with other suppliers."
"Every new version is better than the previous one."
"It is a scalable platform."
"Dell PowerEdge C- Series has strong features including easy implementation and configuration, and it consumes less power compared to other devices."
"The solution's ease of use is its most valuable aspect for our organization, with user-friendly management, very good security, fair pricing, and useful new features added with every release."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"PowerEdge C is very stable, and we hardly experience any downtime."
"I do not see any regular issues coming up from Dell PowerEdge C- Series, and even though we run them on virtualized platforms, they are quite consistent, and we do not find many issues with respect to hardware."
"I find HPE Apollo Systems to be scalable and efficient for AI initiatives, and the environmental efficiency has a significant impact on operational costs."
"It is a stable product; very reliable."
"It's very reliable, I haven't had a single failure at all in the year and a half; not the slightest problem with it, and it's been a pretty good product so far."
"We're going to buy another Apollo 6500. We may configure it with half the number of GPUs because that may be all we need. In a sense, we can see the Apollo 6500 being so powerful that we only need half the GPU capability that we have now."
"Stability has been extremely good."
"When we moved to the Apollo and all flash drives, we gained a lot of performance on that."
"The most valuable feature is the amount of programming storage available."
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable."
 

Cons

"We had a few minor issues with compatibility on the latest version during the installation process."
"HP is a little bit lower in terms of price."
"Dell PowerEdge C- Series can be improved in a couple of ways. While it is a powerhouse for dense and scale-out workloads, the complex I/O and component upgrades due to each server node being compressed into a narrow removable sled make parts replacement difficult."
"The main area for improvement in Dell PowerEdge C- Series is the booting time, as when we power on, it takes time."
"An area where the product lacks and needs to consider improvement is by allowing it to integrate with some AI tool for monitoring."
"There has been an increase in quality issues."
"The product’s cost needs improvement."
"The solution’s pricing could be cheaper."
"We could, perhaps, use more GPUs in the future, go from eight to 16 GPUs per instance. That could run head-to-head against the DGX-1, the DGX-2 that NVIDIA has developed in their own chassis. That would be interesting to see."
"The solution could improve the hardware, such as the motherboard or servers. We have had hardware faults in the past."
"I would want to see the flexibility of being able to run various network protocols including InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, as well as iSCSI, with iSCSI going up to 100 gigabytes per second - that would be outstanding."
"The solution's deployment, security, and scalability need improvement."
"If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo."
"The technical support for HPE Apollo Systems could be improved."
"We would like to see improved cooling because that is quite an issue. If you put that much compute power into a single rack, cooling really becomes an issue. And there is room for improvement there."
"Big stability issues with the CPU on the first generation which made them virtually unusable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of PowerEdge C is very high."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"PowerEdge C is a reasonably priced product, and the pricing depends on how many years you need the product. The cost also includes the support."
"When we talk about pricing it is the cheapest on the market that I have found."
"The cost depends on the configuration."
"There is a need to pay towards the annual subscription-based licensing model offered by the solution. The product is moderately priced. Price is a critical issue, and it is always good to have moderately priced solutions."
"Despite the slightly higher price, we prefer Dell due to the high quality of their products."
"PowerEdge C is a product that is priced at a medium range, so it is not too expensive."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."
"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
23%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PowerEdge C?
I purchased from Dell directly. Dell has given a special discount for that purchase and the support is always a positive factor from Dell's side. We got instant support whenever it was required and...
What needs improvement with PowerEdge C?
The main area for improvement in Dell PowerEdge C- Series is the booting time, as when we power on, it takes time.
What is your primary use case for PowerEdge C?
Dell PowerEdge C- Series is a hardware server installed in my organization. I use it as a hardware server installed in our data center, and we are running our Active Directory and file server for o...
What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
It is too early to say what improvements HPE Apollo Systems could implement because the report still needs to come out and the customer needs to properly evaluate the solution.
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
My main use case for HPE Apollo Systems is replacing many of the servers and storage boxes at one of the customer's sites to achieve workload optimization and optimized solutions. Additionally, whe...
What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?
My advice for someone considering HPE Apollo Systems is that if they are looking for consolidation and their workload involves high availability requirements, or if they want to utilize GPUs, then ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Weta Digital
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.