Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge XE Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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
208
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (3rd), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (5th)
Dell PowerEdge XE Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is 27.4%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XE Servers is 1.2%, up from 1.0% 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.
Muzammil Nasim - PeerSpot reviewer
We're hardly using 15 percent of their computing power, so there's a lot left over that we could utilize
It should be easier to extend PowerEdge XE servers. We haven't architected them with an eye toward scalability. They have a fixed number of slots for hard drives, which is enough for our present use case, However, we would have more options if we could extend that. We could deploy the servers in a broader range of use cases with different requirements. It's fine for our current deployment with only a few thousand users. We're exploring other solutions like such as VxRail or PowerFlex for larger public-facing use cases.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Managing it is straightforward, and the scalability aligns well with the needs of our organization."
"The best features of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for me include the iDRAC for remote access to turned-off servers, which is a very good feature as an admin."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are user-friendly."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers can help with that because it is the platform our whole business runs on - it's the foundation."
"I've been consistently impressed by the exceptional build quality of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers."
"I have not had any issues with stability. Considering some of the environments aren't great, I think they are remarkably stable."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers scale with the growing needs of my company."
"PowerEdge's management interface is easy to use. It's also a platform that we can trust."
"One of the most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge XE Servers is the ease of fixing issues if there are any."
"The strong point of this solution is its compatibility with VMware and its resilience."
"The most valuable feature is that it can support up to 32 drives of internal storage."
"The most valuable feature of these servers is the ability to store a lot—the capacity and the number of hard disk drives."
"PowerEdge XE servers are high-performing. We're hardly using 15 percent of their computing power, so there's a lot left over that we could utilize."
"In general, it works well. We haven't had issues."
"The solution is flexible in my experience."
"Its reliability and consistency are most valuable."
 

Cons

"The shipment times could be improved. Sometimes we have to wait four or five days before we get the actual servers. It could even be longer. Sometimes it is many days."
"The quality of support for this solution varies. Sometimes you get agents who are amazing and other times you get agents who take a long time to resolve your query."
"The security of this solution could be improved. We have very specific needs as an engineering company and require multiple layers of security. This is not offered when implementing the Dell hardware."
"The BIOS interface could be improved; it is very poor. PowerEdge is very good overall, but if you compare the BIOS interface with HPE, it is not very good."
"I know the pricing for Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers went up last year, and we weren't too happy about that, but it is what it is."
"It would be nice if they could make the solution cheaper and faster."
"The GUI could be improved. I primarily work with the command line, which enables you to do many things faster."
"Power consumption is probably on everyone's top of mind regarding Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers; they use a lot of power and create a lot of heat."
"The support team must improve the speed of response."
"We use OpenManager a lot, and that can be a bit clunky at times. They can make that better."
"Upgrading can be a bit difficult."
"In future releases, there should be more support options for the latest processor."
"I would like to have support for performing a detailed analysis of the server from a mobile device."
"It is mostly stable, but the usual problem would be, for example, upgrading to a newer version of VMware or dealing with compatibility issues during the process."
"The quality and reliability could be improved."
"It should be easier to extend PowerEdge XE servers. We haven't architected them with an eye toward scalability. They have a fixed number of slots for hard drives, which is enough for our present use case, However, we would have more options if we could extend that. We could deploy the servers in a broader range of use cases with different requirements. It's fine for our current deployment with only a few thousand users. We're exploring other solutions like such as VxRail or PowerFlex for larger public-facing use cases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is great; very competitive. That's the reason we bought hundreds of them."
"The pricing is good compared to other products."
"The pricing for this solution is reasonable. We pay a basic premium with a military premium on top of that."
"Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing could always be better."
"We would prefer it if the pricing were for half the cost. We have been expanding our company, and my boss stated that we must save money."
"The price of Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"Dell has competitive pricing."
"This solution is priced very reasonably."
"There are different types of licensing available, that works well for customers. The product is not very much to purchase."
"You always want slightly cheaper, but overall, they are quite comparable and quite neutral."
"If you want an SLA for parts and equipment then you need to purchase a support agreement."
"The pricing model is quite competitive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rack Servers solutions are best for your needs.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
12%
University
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?
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have higher hardware costs compared to HPE ProLiant servers, which are cheaper. From reliability, performance, and sustainability perspectives, Dell PowerEdge Rack Serve...
What do you like most about Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
The resource management features are valuable.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
The support team must improve the speed of response. The product should be promoted more in the market.
 

Also Known As

PowerEdge R
PowerEdge XE Servers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Epsilon, ROZETTA CORP, JIGUANG, RACKSPACE, NEW BELGIUM BREWING
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge XE Servers and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.