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Dell PowerEdge XE-Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 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 XE-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
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 February 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XE-Series is 2.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 12.9%, down from 16.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers12.9%
Dell PowerEdge XE-Series2.1%
Other85.0%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

HM
CEO at Matrix ITS
Positive feedback highlights seamless integration and exceptional support
The reviewer primarily works with HCI, specifically Dell VxRail Hyper-Converged Infrastructure. Dell's HCI solution is considered superior to HP's in Egypt, where most customers prefer VxRail. For HP products, they provide blades, servers, C7000, and DL380. Dell's product range includes servers, storage, and hyper-converged infrastructures. Dell offers better pricing for server and technology, especially for HCI since they use VMware, which is considered one of the best hypervisors. Dell's Data Domain is recognized as the leading backup appliance globally, offering cyber resilience backup solutions. The reviewer has experience with Dell PowerProtect from eight years ago and Dell Avamar, which is particularly suitable for larger companies and virtual environments. They have also worked with Unity, VNX, and VMAX all-flash storage solutions, with the VMAX implementation using all NVMe (non-volatile memory). For backup solutions, they utilize GBS, Veeam, Veritas, and Dell solutions including DBS and Data Domain. The reviewer rates this solution 9 out of 10.
Adalberto Giaretta - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology director at Infodive Representações e Serviços ltda
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

"The most valuable feature of these servers is the ability to store a lot—the capacity and the number of hard disk drives."
"In general, it works well. We haven't had issues."
"Its reliability and consistency are most valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the trusted platform module."
"The resource management features are valuable."
"The solution is flexible in my experience."
"The most valuable feature is that it can support up to 32 drives of internal storage."
"One of the most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge XE Servers is the ease of fixing issues if there are any."
"I would say the stability of the system itself would be the biggest advantage."
"The product scales well."
"Ensures high availability, better hardware management, and support for active features."
"They have taken a lot of technology from IBM, and IBM always delivered very powerful hardware to the IT industry compared to Dell EMC or anyone else."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are scalable."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The product is designed to make adding RAM and disk space easier for users."
"It is a scalable product."
 

Cons

"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."
"In future releases, there should be more support options for the latest processor."
"Upgrading can be a bit difficult."
"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."
"Dell PowerEdge XE Servers can improve by adapting HCI technology."
"I would like to have support for performing a detailed analysis of the server from a mobile device."
"The support team must improve the speed of response."
"We use OpenManager a lot, and that can be a bit clunky at times. They can make that better."
"Upgrading firmware is easier in Dell than in Lenovo."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers does a very good job. However, what could be improved can be their Configurator because it's very bulky and it sometimes gives logical errors."
"The performance of the solution could be better."
"Its price could be better. Its price is sometimes an issue for our clients. XClarity Controller is a very good feature, and Lenovo should include the XClarity Controller license without any additional cost. It should be integrated within the product."
"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."
"HP has a riser inside, but Lenovo does not have a riser. It would be good to have a riser with Lenovo. The GUI of the system is really bad. HP has a very good UI for smart memories and everything inside, but in Lenovo, we have a black-and-white UI. HP right now manufactures a server with scalable SP1 and SP2 on a single machine, which is not the case with Lenovo. They are changing the machine. For SP 1, there is one server, and for SP2, there is another server, which is really bad. In HP, we can use two models of processors in a single case. Lenovo should also be improved to have SP1 and SP2 scalable processors simultaneously on a single machine. They should not release another machine. This issue is also there in H3650 severs. They are all inside, but only V3 CPU or only v4 CPU can work, whereas, in HBG9, we can deploy V3 and V4 simultaneously. Lenovo also needs to advertise more because I can't see advertisements anywhere."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers availability could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you want an SLA for parts and equipment then you need to purchase a support agreement."
"You always want slightly cheaper, but overall, they are quite comparable and quite neutral."
"There are different types of licensing available, that works well for customers. The product is not very much to purchase."
"The pricing model is quite competitive."
"This solution is priced very reasonably."
"Dell has competitive pricing."
"I don't know the exact amount of money, but when I compared it to Dell or HPE, Lenovo was the best when it comes to price and equipment."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are cheaper than HPE...It is a good product that offers value for money."
"It is expensive compared to other vendors."
"In India, the solution is cheap compared to its competitors."
"The cost of the solution depends entirely on the client. There are not any additional costs other than the standard licensing fee."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers can be categorized as a product falling under an affordable price range but more expensive than its competitors."
"It costs around $8,000. There is an additional cost for the support for a year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Retailer
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
For Dell PowerEdge XE Servers, particularly for standalone servers, extendability would be a great improvement. This feature is currently available only with virtualization environment. Adding exte...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
I worked with HP Blade Servers including HP Integrity and Altex for the banking sector where I sold blade servers. I have not sold HP Superdome X or HP NonStop. The customers are using it for big d...
What advice do you have for others considering Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
The reviewer primarily works with HCI, specifically Dell VxRail Hyper-Converged Infrastructure. Dell's HCI solution is considered superior to HP's in Egypt, where most customers prefer VxRail. For ...
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...
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....
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Epsilon, ROZETTA CORP, JIGUANG, RACKSPACE, NEW BELGIUM BREWING
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 XE-Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.