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Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge XE Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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 Rack Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
171
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (3rd), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (5th)
Dell PowerEdge XE Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is 27.7%, down from 28.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XE Servers is 1.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Masuood - PeerSpot reviewer
Handles workloads and diverse applications efficiently
We have a lot of VMs on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. On a single server, we have probably hosted 14 or 15 VMs. Out of these, 8 to 10 are continuously running, and four of them are backup VMs, so it can handle a good workload. For cybersecurity, it is only accessible on the intranet; it is not accessible through the web. We use it for local development purposes, and it is behind our firewall. Its security is strong. We handle a lot of test data for government and confidential customers. It is safe and strong locally. We have not experienced any security issues. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have helped to reduce unplanned production downtime if we need to replace a hard disk, instead of completely shutting a server, there is a hot swap feature. It is quite good in that aspect. Usually, for any activity, there is a downtime of about 30 minutes. It has saved a lot of time. We have tried AI workloads for a development environment for a government customer in Singapore. The servers are hosted in Singapore. It is an ML-based engine with AI. It is a government project where data is processed, and we run it on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. The benefit of running AI workloads on PowerEdge Servers is that it is easy to allocate memory. The application we are running is memory intensive. It is pretty easy to scale memory and storage.
Muzammil Nasim - PeerSpot reviewer
We're hardly using 15 percent of their computing power, so there's a lot left over that we could utilize
It should be easier to extend PowerEdge XE servers. We haven't architected them with an eye toward scalability. They have a fixed number of slots for hard drives, which is enough for our present use case, However, we would have more options if we could extend that. We could deploy the servers in a broader range of use cases with different requirements. It's fine for our current deployment with only a few thousand users. We're exploring other solutions like such as VxRail or PowerFlex for larger public-facing use cases.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ease of installation is valuable. The physical side of installation is quite intuitive and has got better by leaps and bounds. The hardware has always been fantastic, and it has always been reliable."
"They provide good support for part replacement, and when they cannot because the part is unavailable, they are pretty good at informing us and letting us know, but generally, these servers just sit in the data center and have been working 24/7 for years without any problems."
"The user interface is very simple, and the support team is always happy to answer any questions we have. They are very easy to contact."
"They are incredibly valuable because they are both user-friendly and powerful for managing hardware."
"The iDRAC feature is valuable. It is for remote handling. If there is a connection issue when we deliver a server to a remote site, we only need to ask them to switch iDRAC on. We then have direct access to the RAID server configuration without having switched it on."
"The most valuable feature is reliability. We rarely have any issues and because of this, Dell is our go-to for servers."
"iDRAC is the most valuable feature because of the ease of use and management and everything that it provides is super useful. The security features that PowerEdge provides, including firmware threat detection is good."
"The initial setup is so easy."
"The solution is flexible in my experience."
"The most valuable feature is the trusted platform module."
"One of the most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge XE Servers is the ease of fixing issues if there are any."
"The most valuable feature is that it can support up to 32 drives of internal storage."
"PowerEdge XE servers are high-performing. We're hardly using 15 percent of their computing power, so there's a lot left over that we could utilize."
"In general, it works well. We haven't had issues."
"The most valuable feature of these servers is the ability to store a lot—the capacity and the number of hard disk drives."
"The resource management features are valuable."
 

Cons

"On the MX7000 platform, they should continue to release better and faster blades."
"After the expiration of support, it is sometimes challenging to find parts like hard drives, especially for obsolete models."
"Capacity and performance could always be improved."
"They should reduce its size. Because the CPU power is more now, they can reduce the size of the servers. Currently, we have a 2U server. If possible, they can make a 1U server."
"The price is acceptable but could be improved."
"PowerEdge could have more configuration options, such as the ability to combine different CPUs, memory volumes, data storage, and memory. The new Intel-based ones are a bit power-hungry."
"Its customer support should be improved."
"Access to specific card models can be limited, and sometimes we require smaller cards than those offered by Dell."
"We use OpenManager a lot, and that can be a bit clunky at times. They can make that better."
"Dell PowerEdge XE Servers can improve by adapting HCI technology."
"It is mostly stable, but the usual problem would be, for example, upgrading to a newer version of VMware or dealing with compatibility issues during the process."
"In future releases, there should be more support options for the latest processor."
"I would like to have support for performing a detailed analysis of the server from a mobile device."
"It should be easier to extend PowerEdge XE servers. We haven't architected them with an eye toward scalability. They have a fixed number of slots for hard drives, which is enough for our present use case, However, we would have more options if we could extend that. We could deploy the servers in a broader range of use cases with different requirements. It's fine for our current deployment with only a few thousand users. We're exploring other solutions like such as VxRail or PowerFlex for larger public-facing use cases."
"The support team must improve the speed of response."
"Upgrading can be a bit difficult."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers aligns closely with the prevailing norms established within the information technology hardware sector."
"We do use Dell's OpenManage console. It is easy to use this console for lifecycle management or PowerEdge servers."
"When you compare public cloud solutions to PowerEdge in terms of cost, initially the cost of Dell servers or Dell technology was really high. However, right now it's on par or, maybe, even cheaper when we use Dell hardware. If we don't swap it out in three years and if we stretch it to four or five years, then we can get even more of an ROI versus cloud cost."
"PowerEdge pricing is equivalent to that of all the others in the market."
"The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers presents itself as a potential point of contention for budget-conscious consumers, as it could be more strategically positioned to compete within the broader marketplace."
"The main reason I choose Dell there is cost. Dell is cheaper than HPE. Why would I want to pay a premium for an HPE product when I'm getting the same amount of support, the same amount of data protection, and the same amount of performance from Dell?"
"The product's pricing is not good."
"The server is a one-time purchase, but the support is on a subscription basis."
"The pricing model is quite competitive."
"There are different types of licensing available, that works well for customers. The product is not very much to purchase."
"You always want slightly cheaper, but overall, they are quite comparable and quite neutral."
"Dell has competitive pricing."
"If you want an SLA for parts and equipment then you need to purchase a support agreement."
"This solution is priced very reasonably."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
13%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....
What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have pretty much progressed a lot if we look at what features are on them now. I don't know what more could be asked for, perhaps just faster performance. Every ( /produ...
What do you like most about Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
The resource management features are valuable.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
The support team must improve the speed of response. The product should be promoted more in the market.
 

Also Known As

PowerEdge R
PowerEdge XE Servers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Epsilon, ROZETTA CORP, JIGUANG, RACKSPACE, NEW BELGIUM BREWING
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge XE Servers and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.