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IBM Power Systems vs Intel Server System comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 11, 2026

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

IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Intel Server System
Ranking in Rack Servers
11th
Average Rating
6.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 6.5%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Intel Server System is 4.0%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Power Systems6.5%
Intel Server System4.0%
Other89.5%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Foluso  Jibowo - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at Hiperdist Ltd
Has empowered enterprises with secure and cost-effective solutions
When discussing disadvantages, I do not see many areas for improvement because we have received good testimonies from every client. IBM gives customers peace of mind. One challenge, which I would not really call a challenge, is that initially people have the notion that IBM Power Systems is quite expensive. However, IBM does not lose deals based on price. This is a message we need to keep communicating to people who feel that IBM is on the high side in terms of cost. We encourage them to have a discussion with us about their total cost of ownership over three or five years. There is a notion in the market that IBM is expensive, which is false. However, once we engage and show them their return on investments and their total cost of ownership savings, they tend to embrace IBM.
SA
Servers Senior Network Administrator at Dukat d.d.
A stable product that constantly enhances its functionalities like multithreading and caching
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is more stable than AMD for VMware. Intel Server System has a good track record for the last 20 years. Multithreading and caching are areas where improvements keep increasing. If you look at the last four years, you will see a big difference when it comes to the area concerning processors.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We really have reduced our billing cycles from days to hours."
"We do see ROI from the move from POWER7 to POWER8, as we do capacity management and are able to move quite a lot of workload."
"I consider IBM a market leader in the server sector, compared to Dell and Lenova, because they have more robust, faster hardware that can be deployed and implemented a lot faster than Intel, even with VMware."
"We have had a good experience with the technical support team at IBM."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"I think the Power system uniquely positions our company with the speed it has, and the processing power."
"The performance is the solution's most valuable asset. It has one of the highest levels of performance I have ever seen. It's quite remarkable, in that sense."
"With IBM Power11, downtime is virtually eliminated because the system has been fully optimized."
"It is stable and easy to manage."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is more stable than AMD for VMware."
"I would recommend this product; it is stable with good performance, and we are satisfied with Intel's products."
"The price is competitive and it uses well known architecture and it's easy to develop for."
 

Cons

"Unfortunately, the hardware models and all those things have gone down a little bit, and there's no such diversity of models, and again, IBM is getting more and more expensive."
"Everyone likes speed. Not that speed has been an issue up until now but you can never be too fast."
"Better manage heterogeneous footprints of all the different operating systems that are out there across one common interface."
"Sometimes, we have issues when we are moving to a new version, which is the case with almost every company."
"Its pricing could be better."
"The solution is highly-priced."
"In my country, there are power supply interruptions. IBM could find ways to make the product stable through these interruptions."
"Software testing and the compatibility of software products that are available in the market should be addressed."
"I give it five out of 10 because, although they're well known, the system isn't really advanced compared to some of the competitors."
"When you have an Intel Server System, the prices may be much higher since it is a different processor, making the solution's pricing part one of its shortcomings where improvements are required."
"We have to scale it ourselves but it scales. It depends on the software because it's mostly the hardware platform that Intel is managing."
"The shipment time can be improved. When we order Intel products, we have to wait for a long time. They can increase the local services and engineers in China. Local engineers will be able to know and understand customer problems much better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost model is great. There is so much built in to the technology, that if you know how to use it you can save yourself a lot of money."
"The pricing of the solution is very good because we can beat any other competitor with the pricing. Lately, they have offered good pricing for their customer."
"It's more about the value you get for the price. Considering its stability and performance, the pricing is good."
"The licensing costs are okay. With IBM Power Systems, it's inclusive, so you can differentiate the price of the hardware from the software itself."
"Why should I be charged for that use rather than a single CPU, a single socket?"
"Its price is too high."
"IBM Power is more expensive than other rack-mount servers, and you have to have a license for everything, including cores and memory."
"The additional software costs are high."
"I rate the pricing a ten on a scale from one to ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is very expensive."
"It is not expensive."
"The price is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise42
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?
In my opinion, the product can be improved by maintaining it and not sunsetting it; that would be my recommendation for IBM. I used to work for IBM for nineteen years, and I know, unfortunately, I ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?
I am an architect and system administrator, and I'm responsible for anything related to IBM Power Systems. In IBM Power Systems, I have found a lot of valuable features such as LVM, TCP, ODM, RSCT,...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM Power Systems?
I would recommend IBM Power Systems to others. I have given this review a rating of ten out of ten.
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Also Known As

IBM OpenPOWER LC
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cipher
Emerson, Baosight, Pentamaster
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Power Systems vs. Intel Server System and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
905,526 professionals have used our research since 2012.