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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 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

Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
353
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (2nd)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
8th
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 November 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 19.9%, down from 27.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 7.0%, down from 14.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series19.9%
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers7.0%
Other73.1%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Jose Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewer
Diretor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Local servers have delivered long-term ERP and virtualization performance while reducing cloud costs
In terms of improving Dell PowerEdge R-Series, to be honest, the product has so many options that I find it very difficult to improve it in terms of product itself. Of course, there will always be some technological evolution and new components, but what the product offers in each generation, and I've already followed five or six generations of Dell PowerEdge from generation 11 up to generation 17, it has always kept pace with technological innovation. In terms of storage, it's always extremely in line with what the market is offering. In terms of memory, each new generation always follows the newest RAM trends. Processors also have both AMD and Intel options. I believe the product already has very high maturity. The availability of redundant power supplies and the availability of off-band management via iDRAC are excellent. The product is already extremely solid and reliable. The most I could perhaps say is that sometimes in some operations, I find iDRAC a bit slow, but that's a characteristic of off-band management because performance comes from a separate card that has its own processor and its own memory, so sometimes it's not as fast as I'd expect from the machine itself. Overall, there really isn't much to say because the product is extremely robust and efficient.
Mike Bellemans - PeerSpot reviewer
Project manager at Sopraco NV
One of the products in the market that is the easiest to set up and maintain
Performance and scalability-wise, there are certain areas where the product lacks and needs improvement as it does not provide a lot of fancy features presently. In general, it is a normal product that is good enough for our company. For the time being, my company does not need any extra features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have been stable and reliable over the last decade."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel are easy to use, are easy to manage with Dell's OpenManage Console, and have extended support for five years."
"The most valuable aspect of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is that they don't require support for card installation and offer extensive diagnostic software."
"The price-to-performance ratio of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is good, and performance is great."
"The support from Dell is key; from the commercial part down to the technical support, it provides us confidence that you have a partner—really a partner—that is behind that."
"Our requirement is 99.9999% uptime."
"The most valuable features are that they are very reliable, and Dell's technical service is also optimal."
"Dell PowerEdge R-Series has given us a stable platform to build on, which is significant for us because we do high-frequency trading, so stability and performance are crucial."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is the easiest product to set up and maintain."
"The server itself covers all of the bases — my clients are really happy with it."
"We have not experienced any issues with the Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers' performance, as it is stable."
"It is a scalable product."
"The solution is very simple to install."
"It's very power-efficient and allows you to access the rack server directly without accessing the operating system on that server."
"The product is designed to make adding RAM and disk space easier for users."
 

Cons

"The only thing that could be improved is documentation. The product is highly customizable with a lot of options for each component."
"There needs to be more flexibility for business options."
"In terms of storage, bigger storage capacity for Dell PowerEdge R-Series would be an improvement."
"Reduced cabling and improved power consumption management would be beneficial improvements."
"One aspect that could be better is easier integration with Nagios."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are competitive, but there is room for energy efficiency improvement considering the thermal design and power consumption."
"OpenManage Essentials could do with a visual birthday as it still requires the Silverlight plugin."
"Currently, the solution does not have the in-process memory encryption technology."
"The power consumption needs to be optimized in Lenovo."
"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."
"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."
"I definitely suggest potential users skip Lenovo and go for Dell EMC, which has good hardware, and great internal security components."
"It is quite an expensive product. Its price can be improved."
"I do not have any notes for improvements."
"I have a few notification alerts about PCI cards but it's rare."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."
"The pricing could always be better."
"It's abundantly clear that the specific licensing requirements will be dictated by the intricacies of the machinery we deploy."
"The pricing for PowerEdge servers is reasonable."
"The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers aligns closely with the prevailing norms established within the information technology hardware sector."
"The pricing for Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is on par with everything else at the moment."
"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."
"It's not a very expensive solution."
"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."
"Its pricing is very competitive."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"The price of the solution is very expensive when compared to other solution like HP or Dell."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business125
Midsize Enterprise70
Large Enterprise156
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

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 needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
Dell PowerEdge R-Series could improve by addressing the issue of temperatures and problems with RAM memory, as those are generally where we have had issues. The modules, specifically the DIMMs, ten...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
My main use case for Dell PowerEdge R-Series is for private cloud infrastructure. A specific example of how I use Dell PowerEdge R-Series in my environment is for private cloud provisioning for 5G....
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...
 

Also Known As

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
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 R-Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.