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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

"The hardware itself is pleasant to work with. The management ability, particularly the out-of-band management, seems quite nice. The ecosystem tooling is also pleasant to work with. Additionally, Dell offers good support, and the servers are reliable."
"We are using the Dell PowerEdge Rack Server for core banking applications. It is working fine and we are happy with it."
"The iDRAC for remote access is the most useful feature because it's built into the machine. I can reboot them without having to be there physically. We do a lot of what we do remotely, and it handles that fine."
"The calculation potential with modern CPUs is valuable. We have the capacity to increase the number of CPUs per machine, and there are also energy savings."
"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."
"PowerEdge Servers helped to reduce unplanned production downtime because of the configuration of our product, it is active-active. It has 99% high reliability."
"PowerEdge is one of the top solutions when it comes to the security features that it provides including firmware, drift protection, and systems management."
"The go-to-market implementation was pretty fast."
"It is a stable solution."
"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 scalable product."
"Its performance and the local support of Lenovo in my city are the most valuable features. Its performance is the best, and its user interface is also very easy."
"We appreciate the stability and easy mountings of all the machines. We have some direct connections with IBM, Lenovo, and other companies, and we get close support from them."
"Easy integration with UPS systems provides added convenience and efficiency for our operations."
"It's very power-efficient and allows you to access the rack server directly without accessing the operating system on that server."
"The hardware is good."
 

Cons

"The maintenance for this solution could be improved."
"The design, in terms of power efficiency, can be improved."
"I do not have any input. My servers are quite old. Newer systems are more sustainable in terms of energy consumption. I need to consider more power-saving and sustainable options."
"I would like to see the pricing improved."
"The pricing structure could be improved."
"Its customer support should be improved."
"This solution helped us reduce our rack footprint. It reduced our power consumption including size and weight."
"Occasionally, there might be extended wait times between placing an order and receiving the delivery."
"Improvements could be made in the network cards, particularly by offering options for higher-speed cards beyond the current 10 GB."
"There are other solutions that are less expensive."
"Throughout the use of the product, special needs will arise which may require a global need."
"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."
"The performance of the solution could be better."
"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."
"It is quite an expensive product. Its price can be improved."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'd like them to be cheaper, but that's not the world we live in and that's not where the pound is at."
"The pricing is good compared to other products."
"It's a bit of a shock when you have to find the money, but the pricing is very competitive, so I'm happy with that."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"The product's pricing is not good."
"I am satisfied with the pricing of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers and would rate the cost as seven out of ten, with ten being the best."
"The pricing is very good because there are a lot of types of PowerEdge Rack Servers. You have the R540, R640, and R740. The prices are very scalable through the specific server, e.g., small businesses can take the R640 while large businesses can take the R740 or R840. Thus, Dell technologies touch on every organization."
"Dell is somewhat more expensive than HPE."
"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."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers can be categorized as a product falling under an affordable price range but more expensive than its competitors."
"The licensing cost is the same as HP. It doesn't have any additional cost. However, the price, for example, for the memory option, does not match other vendors such as HP or Dell. They should work on the pricing of Lenovo. It is a great competitor, and it should compete with the price."
"As the costs got high, we had to use the virtualization feature to consolidate the server farm.​"
"Its pricing is very competitive."
"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."
"The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is competitive."
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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.