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Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 23, 2025

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)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is 27.8%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 16.0%, down from 16.7% 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.
Adalberto Giaretta - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable with an easy setup and good support
These are rack servers. We use them for applications. It stores everything including VM servers, application servers, Windows, et cetera The reliability is great. The solution is like any other commodity like Dell or HPE. These are all very similar.  Setting up the solution is easy. It is stable.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are pretty good at handling diverse applications."
"It is quite flexible when you use it."
"The complete hyper-converged infrastructure of this solution has been most useful. PowerEdge has helped to reduce data processing time by 20%."
"We particularly appreciate the iDRAC feature, especially in its latest versions, for its capabilities in remote server management and comprehensive monitoring."
"The reliability and the execution of the necessary assignments are valuable."
"This solution keeps us up and running and reduces downtime. PowerEdge helped us to reduce data processing time. The PowerEdge systems management frameworks enabled us to progress towards full automation."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are easy to manage and install, and it gives us a lot of time to do other things."
"Dell's customer support is very good, especially since we have premium support for next-day hardware service."
"The IMM tool is great because we can upgrade different views and device versions very quickly. We can upgrade everything from a single point through a single dashboard, which is great for us because we also have Lenovo storage. Lenovo ThinkSystem also has Xclarity built into the system."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is the easiest product to set up and maintain."
"It's very power-efficient and allows you to access the rack server directly without accessing the operating system on that server."
"Ensures high availability, better hardware management, and support for active features."
"One of the main advantages of this tool is its ease of use, as it is a GUI-based tool needing a simple and easy configuration...It is a stable solution."
"It is a stable solution."
"It has good integration. You have VMware for connecting many machines, and you can support microservices. You can also easily connect the networks. It is also very easy to use and implement, and it comes with good support."
"I like everything about this solution. It is a very good server, with excellent availability. The size of the power is adequate and the low heating is beneficial."
 

Cons

"It could be an option to remove discs and just have a virtual option. If you remove the room you need for discs, you could make it smaller. It would take up less room that way."
"The limited connectivity of the Rack Servers, due to having only three USB ports, is an area of improvement for Dell."
"The Industrial and healthcare areas both need improvement."
"It would be nice if it were all included as a part of PowerEdge so you can check your server's performance and availability online."
"We wanted to have two storage cards during the onboarding process of the solution, which were available only on the more expensive version of the boxes that we usually use for work in our company."
"Its price could be better."
"Dell hardware is not as stable as HP. I have not seen any issues with HP in five years, but with Dell, I am getting multiple issues. It's not stable. They need to verify why it has multiple issues and why Dell hardware is not as stable as HP hardware."
"The management of the security architecture could be improved. It takes some time and can be challenging."
"Performance and scalability-wise, there are certain areas where the product lacks and needs improvement as it does not provide a lot of fancy features presently."
"It was complex to get this started because the Lenovo and VMware are not very compatible. We had to get some updates in order for it to be implemented."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers availability could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"I would like the solution to be improved by having more advanced utilities."
"It should have tools for integration with the cloud. We should be able to transmit data from our on-premises server to the servers in the cloud."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could improve the availability of their solution. The supply chain is severely broken, we've had to wait many months for component parts to a system time after time. The availability of discs and raid controllers has been difficult lately."
"Improvements could be made in the network cards, particularly by offering options for higher-speed cards beyond the current 10 GB."
"Upgrading firmware is easier in Dell than in Lenovo."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"PowerEdge pricing is equivalent to that of all the others in the market."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"You can't have computed performance without using more power. That said, when I consider the power consumption and performance of the MX740c, depending on how much memory you install on each blade, you get the best bang for your buck."
"I wouldn't say the solution's pricing is the best, but it's very competitive."
"The price is good for the quality of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers."
"The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers aligns closely with the prevailing norms established within the information technology hardware sector."
"The solution's analytics helped to decrease production downtime by at least 30%."
"The pricing could always be better."
"It is too expensive. Because we are a university and we have to look for our money, many times we buy some refurbished machines or equipment at reasonable prices from IBM or Lenovo. We are a little bit limited in terms of money, and we buy as much as we can. If they were cheaper, we would buy more."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is highly competitive. Many customers prefer this solution because of the price. However, the price could be reduced."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers can be categorized as a product falling under an affordable price range but more expensive than its competitors."
"The price of the solution is very expensive when compared to other solution like HP or Dell."
"As the costs got high, we had to use the virtualization feature to consolidate the server farm.​"
"Other than the standard licensing fees there are no other additional costs. The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could be better, and the availability of the solution could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"Your budget determines the scalability."
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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
16%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
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?
The price of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is competitive. There's always room for support improvements, and the AI features could continue to be enhanced as the relationship with Nvidia grows.
How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers?
The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is the easiest product to set up and maintain.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are cheaper than HPE, so my company saw it as a product that is available at a bang for one's buck.
 

Also Known As

PowerEdge R
SR Series, Lenovo SR Series, ThinkSystem Rack Servers, IBM Rack Servers, ThinkSystem SR Series, Lenovo Rack Servers,
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
immixGroup, Komsomolskaya Pravda, SRG Global, Seekr, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, jKool, Tennis Australia, VEKA, Netpoints, Gamma Powersports
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.