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Dell PowerEdge FX [EOL] vs HPE Apollo Systems comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 26, 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 FX [EOL]
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE Apollo Systems
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Rack Servers (8th), Density Optimized Servers (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

MarcGaethofs - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly stable product that seamlessly integrates with the storage portfolio and provides excellent technical support
We have a lot of questions during the order process. They get answered well. The machines are ready to go when we switch on the power. It will depend on our configuration. If we don't make an order with all the configuration specs in it, we’ll get nothing. We will have to do it all by ourselves. Which isn't a problem, but it will take longer. The solution is deployed on-premise, but we're transitioning to more hybrid solutions. We have a team for storage and connectivity. We also have a team for switching and networking. We need three to five enterprise system engineers to build a normal-sized cluster with 500 users. We also need a project manager.
Aruna Udawatte - PeerSpot reviewer
An affordable and easy-to-implement solution, but its after-sales support and technical support should be improved
We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux servers HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products. HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product seamlessly integrates with the storage portfolio."
"My advice to new users evaluating Dell PowerEdge FX is that it is definitely value for money, and you should consider it for purchase."
"It is a scalable solution. My company hasn't faced any difficulties related to the product's performance and scalability since Dell ensures to provide a high-performance service."
"The product's initial setup phase was simple and easy."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerEdge FX is you can customize the solution to your specifications, such as speed. Additionally, part orders are shipped and received quickly when a part needs to be replaced."
"The most valuable feature is its stability."
"The features that I have found most valuable are that it has very robust servers and a very heavy load. We've been working on servers now for 10 years and those servers are still up and running. Those servers are still very powerful until today."
"It has extremely high performance, and it is easy to manage."
"We usually use three blades for two-rack units, and with enough storage, it's really a small system with a powerful CPU, powerful hard drives, powerful disks."
"It enables us to implement software defined solutions very easily, because Apollo servers are certified for use with Linux systems"
"we can use the same platform for several use cases: Hadoop, Ceph, and we are considering the server for another use case right now. It's a single solution, we only have to integrate it once and we can use it for several technologies."
"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."
"Absolutely being able to mount into Omni-Path architecture, HFIs on those nodes, because we were the very first site in the world"
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable. It is quite effective for the work for which we are using it. We are mainly running video servers on these, and we are quite happy with the resilience, density storage, and streaming capacity of the system."
"HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products."
 

Cons

"The system is good, but compared to open-source and assembled servers, it is somewhat costly."
"Before the cloud solution and virtualization, we relied on Dell hardware from specific vendors. The lifecycle for cloud infrastructure is shorter than it used to be. We need a longer lifecycle from the IT supplier providing the computing solution."
"There are certain shortcomings with Dell PowerEdge FX's integration capabilities with different operating systems, where improvements are needed."
"I think that Dell has full documentation on their products, but it needs to be improved for this one."
"They could improve from a manufacturing perspective."
"I don't have any technical issues, but I would like to see the commercial side improve as compared to all other OEMs."
"There are times when a part might break down and we need to have Dell replace it."
"The product must provide more integration."
"One drawback which I had: When I needed to expand storage on the Apollo, I had significant problems getting disks for it. It was a very long wait-time. So, if I were to give any advice in regards to improving this product, I would say make more of the 8TB disks available quicker."
"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."
"I would want to see the flexibility of being able to run various network protocols including InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, as well as iSCSI, with iSCSI going up to 100 gigabytes per second -that would be outstanding."
"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."
"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."
"We have tried to used standardization using Ubuntu Linux and it's been hard. They had some difficulties getting the RAID configuration up and running because there are no drivers for it. It's not supported by HPE."
"We could, perhaps, use more GPUs in the future, go from eight to 16 GPUs per instance. That could run head-to-head against the DGX-1, the DGX-2 that NVIDIA has developed in their own chassis. That would be interesting to see."
"The support from HPE Apollo could be better, they are making knowledgeable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the license is expensive."
"The cost of Dell PowerEdge FX depends on the configuration we are using. We usually pay $5,000 to $10,000 based on the configuration, including RAM and storage."
"I rate the product price a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."
"Payments are generally made towards the perpetual-based licensing costs attached to the solution, but people can also opt for subscription-based licenses."
"The price of Dell PowerEdge FX is affordable, and when compared to other solutions, such as Lenovo and HPE it is less expensive. There are any extra costs other than the standard solution."
"Compared to other brands, this solution is the cheapest. I would rate the pricing as a five out of five."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Non Profit
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerEdge FX?
The product's initial setup phase was simple and easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerEdge FX?
The cost of Dell PowerEdge FX depends on the configuration we are using. We usually pay $5,000 to $10,000 based on the configuration, including RAM and storage.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge FX?
The system is good, but compared to open-source and assembled servers, it is somewhat costly. If it were cheaper, it would be even better. I would prefer the next releases of Dell PowerEdge FX to b...
What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
Additional features would be beneficial in the next release of HPE Apollo Systems.
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
We were working with HPE Apollo Systems for one of our projects for the company named VVDN. We were using HPE Apollo Systems, GPU systems and CPU systems. For GPU systems, the model was 6500, in wh...
What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?
Our company is a platinum partner with HPE, and we continue to deal with HPE. We sell many of their hardware products. Depending on the requirement or deal, we may sell HPE Converged System, hardwa...
 

Also Known As

PowerEdge FX
HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tracewell, Govers, AXA ASSISTANCE ITALIA
Weta Digital
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