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Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs HPE Apollo Systems comparison

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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
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
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 September 2026, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge C- Series is 19.0%, down from 24.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 21.2%, up from 19.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Density Optimized Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge C- Series19.0%
HPE Apollo Systems21.2%
Other59.8%
Density Optimized Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Sanjay Singh Bisht - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager - Datacenter 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

"Since we changed to Dell PowerEdge C- Series, we have not encountered any downtime or hardware crash in the last two to three years, which has been very helpful for me."
"We deployed four PowerEdge C6100 when we needed to reduce the power consumption and the amount of heat generated in our data-center."
"Regarding features of Dell PowerEdge C- Series, reliability, scalability, and ease of management stand out to me."
"PowerEdge C is very stable, and we hardly experience any downtime."
"PowerEdge C is the best server I have worked with. I like that it's user-friendly. PowerEdge C performs very well."
"It is a scalable solution."
"My experience with Dell PowerEdge C- Series is very good and positive."
"Every new version is better than the previous one."
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable."
"The solution is well documented in a data sheet."
"For us, the most valuable features are the price and density."
"It's allowed us to compete with cloud storage providers like AWS to put together a scalable on-premises solution of more than 20PB at a similar pricepoint."
"Tech support has been outstanding."
"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."
"HPE Apollo's support is the most valuable feature."
"HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products."
 

Cons

"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 product’s cost needs improvement."
"For improvements, the iDRAC application isn't very intuitive to handle."
"The current memory could be improved."
"The product’s pricing could be a little cheaper."
"It would be better if the solution provided simplified storage and hardware with an integrated one-tier architecture."
"I don't see the possibility of mixing LFF drives with SFF drives in a particular machine."
"A feature that needs to be added is the ability for full container storage."
"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."
"The solution could improve the hardware, such as the motherboard or servers. We have had hardware faults in the past."
"We have tried to used standardization using Ubuntu Linux and it's been hard. They had some difficulties getting the RAID configuration up and running because there are no drivers for it. It's not supported by HPE."
"Connectivity to the outside of the server needs to be improved at the same time the network is improving."
"If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo."
"If the workload is not purely sequential, then performance in the IO is less than optimal because it's optimized for streaming processing."
"We would like to see SimpliVity on top of the Apollo."
"The licensing could be greatly improved, I think."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"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."
"PowerEdge C is very expensive, but personally, I think it's worth the price."
"The cost depends on the configuration."
"I would rate the pricing 4 out of 10, in terms of its cost expense."
"PowerEdge C is a product that is priced at a medium range, so it is not too expensive."
"The price could be reduced."
"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."
"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."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"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."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
25%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise15
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: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.