Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs HPE Apollo Systems comparison

Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Density Optimized Servers category. Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.0. Dell Technologies holds a 23.7% mindshare in DOS, compared to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 18.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerEdge C- Series

Read 32 Dell PowerEdge C- Series reviews

1,006 Views
493 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HPE Apollo Systems

Read 24 HPE Apollo Systems reviews

2,059 Views
268 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge C- Series

HPE Apollo Systems

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 8, 2026

Dell PowerEdge C-Series and HPE Apollo Systems compete in the high-performance computing market. Dell is preferred for its pricing and support, while HPE Apollo is favored for its robust features, indicating it as the more comprehensive solution.

Features: Dell PowerEdge C-Series stands out with its powerful virtualization capabilities, robust management tools, and flexible scalability. Additionally, it offers remote management through the iDRAC feature and high performance and reliability. HPE Apollo is known for its exceptional storage density, tailored for AI and deep learning applications with strong GPU and storage capabilities, and offers excellent configurability to handle intensive computational tasks.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerEdge C-Series needs to enhance reliability, pricing flexibility, and AI integration. Users express concerns over stability, support, and cost-effectiveness. HPE Apollo requires better pricing models, improved support services, and enhanced IO performance. Users also call for faster component delivery and more efficient storage expansion solutions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerEdge C-Series is noted for its flexibility between cloud and on-premises environments and mostly positive technical support experiences, despite some service delays. HPE Apollo offers consistent on-premise deployment supported by commendable assistance, though there's room for improvement in service responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerEdge C-Series is recognized as cost-effective with reasonable licensing, yet some users find it pricier than competitors. HPE Apollo, though more expensive upfront, is considered a valuable investment for comprehensive solutions. Users highlight ROI benefits for both products, with Dell being slightly more economical, particularly in support and maintenance.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems

March 2026

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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

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Blade Servers (7th)

HPE Apollo Systems

Ranking in Density Optimized Servers

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Rack Servers (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge C- Series is 23.7%, down from 25.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 18.6%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Density Optimized Servers Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge C- Series	23.7%
HPE Apollo Systems	18.6%
Other	57.7%

Density Optimized Servers

Featured Reviews

Gouranga Maiti

Sr. Project Manager IT at ITC Ltd

High-performance servers have powered secure database analytics and flexible virtualization

The processing power and computing power are very good. Even with the Xeon Gold processor, it is performing very well without any issues. After migrating to these servers, we reduced the number of cores or CPUs from our infrastructure level. However, it is still not reaching the threshold limit of CPU usage. The bandwidth handling capability as well as computing capabilities are excellent. Day by day, Dell is enhancing and releasing new models and new Dell PowerEdge C- Series systems with new computing capability CPUs from Intel. These types of compatibilities are getting evaluated, and I am keeping my eye on that aspect so that when new technologies and new areas emerge, we can buy new hardware to migrate and host our other applications. Dell PowerEdge C- Series advanced security features are noteworthy. My applications are running without any issues, without any hacking or data leakage. Our security team and gateway firewall teams are always concerned about security, and I have peace of mind. Of course, Dell PowerEdge C- Series security features are helping us improve that. The hardware design is getting more and more powerful day by day. Whenever Dell releases new things, it is getting compatible with our different types of Gold, Platinum, Intel Xeon, and AMD type of CPUs. Dell PowerEdge C- Series handles L2 and L3 cache capabilities, caching capabilities, memory computing capabilities, and the NVMe RAM type also improves performance. The OS level hardware also has this type of NVMe type of high-speed storage implemented on that hardware. The hardware is getting improved day by day. Dell PowerEdge C- Series storage is used in our data center, but I am not concerned about that because it is not used in my division. Although I am part of that organization, in my division, I am not using that.

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Gökhan DURMAZ

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Dell PowerEdge C- Series is a contemporary solution and the best solution."

"The performance is good."

"It's a good product. Virtualization on it is good."

"I see it is absolutely beneficial to have a return on investment after implementing Dell PowerEdge C-Series at about 20%."

"The most significant benefits, in my experience, are the configuration, reliability of the equipment, and the support of Dell."

"The scalability of the product is good since it offers high performance and capacity."

"The hybrid solution is much more stable than other products."

"I like the feature that allows for a backup and that is suitable for me."

More Dell PowerEdge C- Series pros

"Stability has been extremely good."

"With HPE Apollo, we can propose configurations with many hard drives, making it suitable for large storage needs."

"We usually use three blades for two-rack units, and with enough storage, it's really a small system with a powerful CPU, powerful hard drives, powerful disks."

"Not having to manage traditional NAS has made a big difference."

"Absolutely being able to mount into Omni-Path architecture, HFIs on those nodes, because we were the very first site in the world"

"We are running Apollo with SL-series servers and the best thing about them is the density of the storage area available."

"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."

"we can use the same platform for several use cases: Hadoop, Ceph, and we are considering the server for another use case right now. It's a single solution, we only have to integrate it once and we can use it for several technologies."

More HPE Apollo Systems pros

Cons

"The product’s pricing could be a little cheaper."

"It would be better if it worked with SMTP servers on the cloud. Right now, it only allows notifications via the SMTP server. In the next release, I would like to have a better processor."

"The VxRail should be opened to allow other virtualization platforms to be used."

"The price must be improved."

"For improvements, the iDRAC application isn't very intuitive to handle."

"HP is a little bit lower in terms of price."

"The reliability needs improvement."

"It would be better if the solution provided simplified storage and hardware with an integrated one-tier architecture."

More Dell PowerEdge C- Series cons

"The support from HPE Apollo could be better, they are making knowledgeable."

"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."

"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."

"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."

"Big stability issues with the CPU on the first generation which made them virtually unusable."

"What's coming out in Gen 10 is very strong in terms of additional security."

More HPE Apollo Systems cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We buy licenses for the solution's advanced features."

"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."

"The product costs can be high, especially for disks and other components."

"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."

"I don't handle the financial aspects, so I don't know the exact costs, but in terms of the value it brings, it's worth it."

"The cost depends on the configuration."

"When we talk about pricing it is the cheapest on the market that I have found."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

More Dell PowerEdge C- Series pricing and cost advice

"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."

"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."

"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."

"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."

"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

12%

Venture Capital & Private Equity Firm

10%

Marketing Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	13

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about PowerEdge C?

The solution provides good support and service.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PowerEdge C?

I just use normal switches for the domain controller in the network, as I have not used the advanced thermal management solutions of Dell PowerEdge C- Series.

See all answers

What needs improvement with PowerEdge C?

Dell PowerEdge C-Series does not need much improvement in the configuration part.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?

Some features could be added to HPE Apollo Systems in the future, and I feel that some capability is needed. HPE Apollo Systems is a bit expensive, and there are some issues with scalability. Two f...

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What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?

I have been distributing this product for three years. I don't have specific use cases, and everything about the major use case for HPE Apollo Systems is good. I don't know the purpose clients are ...

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What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?

I am not using these products today, and I do not work with some specific firewalls. My company is TD Synnex, a distributor company, and I work for this company. My email is , and my first name is ...

See all answers

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 19% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge C- Series

March 2026

Download Dell PowerEdge C- Series product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems

March 2026

Download HPE Apollo Systems product report

Also Known As

No data available

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo

Overview

Dell PowerEdge C-Series is known for its high performance, scalability, and efficient power usage, making it suitable for demanding applications in data centers. Its compact design and affordability offer practicality and value for businesses seeking reliable hardware solutions.

PowerEdge C-Series offers robust virtualization capabilities and advanced reliability with Intel Xeon sockets and Intel's RAS. This series is valued for seamless expansion and strong technical support, enhancing its appeal for enterprise environments. While there is room for improvement in cost, compatibility, and additional memory slots, it remains a favored choice for database servers, VOIP systems, and application hosting due to its flexible configurations and ease of integration with VMware infrastructure. Enhancements desired by users include better AI integration, more iDRAC functionality, and improved stability and service procedures.

What are the key features of PowerEdge C-Series?

Remote Management: Features iDRAC for efficient remote management.
Performance: Supports high performance with Intel Xeon sockets.
Reliability: Advanced reliability assured with Intel's RAS capabilities.
Scalability: Offers seamless expansion and scalability.
Compact Design: Compact build enhances usability and tool-free maintenance.

What benefits should users consider?

Cost Efficiency: Provides affordability with efficient power usage.
Flexibility: Offers configurations for diverse budget needs.
Technical Support: Backed by robust customer and technical support.
Integration Capabilities: Seamless integration with VMware for workload management.

In banking, telecommunications, and public sectors, Dell PowerEdge C-Series is implemented to support virtual machines, internal applications, and high-performance computing tasks. Its reliable integration with VMware infrastructure makes it an ideal choice for businesses seeking efficient workload management and critical hardware backup solutions. Its affordability and power efficiency allow organizations in these sectors to meet their computing demands without straining budgets.

Dell Technologies

The HPE Apollo high-density server family is built for the highest levels of performance and efficiency. They are rack-scale compute, storage, networking, power and cooling – massively scale-up and scale-out – solutions for your big data analytics, object storage and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. From water-cooling that’s 1,000X more efficient than air, to “right-sized scaling” with 2X the compute density for workgroup and private cloud workloads, the HPE Apollo line is a dense, high-performance, tiered approach for organisations of all sizes.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco

Weta Digital

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems

March 2026

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