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HPE Superdome X vs Lenovo Flex System comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 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

HPE Superdome X
Ranking in Blade Servers
6th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo Flex System
Ranking in Blade Servers
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Superdome X is 8.0%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo Flex System is 4.4%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HPE Superdome X8.0%
Lenovo Flex System4.4%
Other87.6%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2056329 - PeerSpot reviewer
Professor at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Robust product, helped with workload management and offers remote configuration
In this specific model, it could be beneficial to have a server configuration similar to Cisco, like the kind offered in HPE Superdome Flex X280. The ability to separate the chassis is important because we are forced to use two chassis even with lower loads. So introducing more flexibility in the Superdome environment would be helpful. One other problem is energy consumption. We are forced to use both chassis even when we only need, for example, all four processors. It's not always used at full capacity every day. When underutilized, we still need to have both chassis powered, which creates an energy consumption issue. While the machine can be configured to reduce consumption, the idea of having different possible configurations with varying chassis usage, similar to the Flex version, could be interesting for this model, too. This model leverages specific features of the Intel MAP board, so switching like in the Flex might be difficult due to the motherboard switching involved.
FA
Senior System Administrator at Khushhali Microfinance Bank
Used to run the compute load on servers, but firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult
We use the solution for multiple purposes, such as in the virtualization cluster and the standalone applications We use the solution as a compute model to run the compute load on servers. The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult. I have been using Lenovo Flex System for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the really cool things about Superdome is, depending on the model you choose, you can put 8-16 blades in it."
"This product is very reliable."
"I like the robustness of the machine. Similar performance could likely be achieved with other configurations, but this machine is very stable."
"The most valuable features of HPE Superdome X are speed, performance, and resilience."
"SDX gave us a very large RAM and we need that for the large-scale graph-handling applications."
"We've got a few of them, because we needed some really large machines. So far, they've been working pretty good."
"Superdome X is a system that can compete in terms of performance and uptime, but it's now standard. That is the great value. There are competitors like IBM, for example, but IBM has a propietary operating system. With Superdome X, you have a system that can run Windows, Red Hat, or VMware, but in a mission critical server."
"The stability and speed are always good. The processor is good and it's still working with our loads."
"The functionality is reliable and requires minimal support."
"It comes at a good price. We didn't face any problems with this product."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is its ease of use."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"The product is very user-friendly and has many resources at the enterprise level."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"Flex System's best features are its performance and stability."
 

Cons

"I'd like to see the onboarding of some storage class memory to really expand the already very large RAM, into something that could be even much bigger."
"What would make it better from my point of view is if HPE spent more time on testing with the actual built-in Red Hat Linux drivers, as opposed to always trying to say, "Use our driver.""
"I know we support Windows and I think it's Red Hat, and I'd like to see more OSs supported."
"HPE Superdome X can improve by adding a lot of cloud capabilities to allow this solution to be cloud-ready in case the customer wants to move it to the cloud."
"In this specific model, it could be beneficial to have a server configuration similar to Cisco, like the kind offered in HPE Superdome Flex X280. The ability to separate the chassis is important because we are forced to use two chassis even with lower loads. So introducing more flexibility in the Superdome environment would be helpful."
"It would be helpful if you could do the maintenance completely online."
"I had some difficulties with the initial setup."
"The product could improve its integration capabilities."
"The most valuable feature of the Lenovo Flex System is the storage system."
"Forced restarts due to free upgrades is an issue that needs to be resolved. We can manage this as we have high availability and redundancy, but without that it could be a real problem."
"The solution's firmware and driver upgrades are a bit difficult."
"Flex System's integration with the XClarity Management System could be improved."
"It does not have the same module flexibility that was present in IBM Blade. On the Blade System, I was able to choose between the Cisco module, or BMC module. Since the switch to Lenovo, I have not had the same choice of modules, only the BMC modules."
"The solution could improve by providing more integration with other platforms."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is not very cheap. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with one being very inexpensive, and ten being very expensive."
"There is a very expensive one-time cost with no licensing fees."
"The 14 blade server allows significant room for upscaling before having to invest in another chassis. You would have to purchase another chassis much sooner in the case of an eight or nine blade server."
"The is an annual license cost to use the Lenovo Flex System. If the price was less expensive and flexible overall and for additional features, our customers would be happier."
"The price is interesting. I am able to quote a client based on their needs and offer them either Lenovo or Dell."
"There is a one-off payment to buy the equipment and the support is purchased annually."
"We are just paying the operational cost, which is not much."
"We have the whole maintenance for the 3 years, starting the deployment. We also have the VMware license for 3 years and I think we have another license to buy. There are no additional costs besides licensing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Superdome X?
I like the robustness of the machine. Similar performance could likely be achieved with other configurations, but this machine is very stable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Superdome X?
The pricing is not very cheap. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with one being very inexpensive, and ten being very expensive.
What needs improvement with HPE Superdome X?
In this specific model, it could be beneficial to have a server configuration similar to Cisco, like the kind offered in HPE Superdome Flex X280. The ability to separate the chassis is important be...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo Flex System?
Compared to its quality, the pricing is very reasonable and represents good value.
What needs improvement with Lenovo Flex System?
Continuing the production of this product is necessary. It is currently out of support, and we are seeking support from other sources besides Lenovo.
What is your primary use case for Lenovo Flex System?
We are using Lenovo Flex System on the server for our VMware environment, which includes our VMs and all our servers, Linux and Windows. It manages the daily operation efficiently.
 

Also Known As

HP Integrity Superdome, HP Superdome X
Flex System Blade Servers, Flex System SN Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Pella
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Superdome X vs. Lenovo Flex System and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.