Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems vs Intel Server System comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.9. Dell Technologies holds a 27.5% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to IBM’s 9.0% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Read 211 Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers reviews

13,941 Views
13,802 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

IBM Power Systems

Read 71 IBM Power Systems reviews

3,981 Views
3,981 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Intel Server System

Read 3 Intel Server System reviews

1,790 Views
1,790 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

IBM Power Systems

Intel Server System

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, IBM Power Systems, and Intel Server System based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo and others in Rack Servers.

To learn more, read our detailed Rack Servers Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Rack Servers

August 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is 27.5%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.0%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Intel Server System is 5.0%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Syed Masuood

Country manager at Asta Innosys

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.

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Rohintan-Karanjia

Advisory Services at Nangia Andersen LLP

Offers security features, including HIPs, Postgres, intrusion prevention systems, and AI for specific tasks

We've found that sometimes, certain setups require better servers. Ideally, the next level of model that IBM offers would be perfect for those situations. Sometimes, the availability of additional services can be a challenge for some software. Certain IBM software takes time to deliver to the client. It can be slow. So deployment is an area for improvement.

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Sami Abughosh

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is so easy."

"The product is well-rounded and has been effective in meeting our needs."

"The feature of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers that I value the best is the iDRAC, as it is extremely good and simplifies tasks."

"They are very stable. They are rock solid. I am happy with them."

"The server itself has the most stable updates. The patches and the updates will take you a long way before they release another one, so you aren't constantly doing more updates and upgrades."

"The real advantage to Dell when I look at some of the other competitors is the support."

"It's very easy to get new systems in the data center and to get them ready for production."

"We like the iDRAC card which gives us remote access to the server out of band. That's fantastic because if a box is misbehaving, I'm able to get into the bare metal and repair the operating system without needing to go out to the branch office, which could be anywhere in the UK."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers pros

"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."

"The most valuable feature of our machines is their ability to replace faulty parts without causing any downtime."

"On the security side, we get regular security patch updates and system hardening. There are free tools available to harden the system."

"The most valuable features of the solution are disaster recovery, replication, and the ability to migrate to another location."

"The availability of a solution depends on the requirement of the customer. The most valuable feature is the virtualization. You can have this one system or you can use it for many. They were using almost 120 servers within that specific service."

"Additionally, the processing power is far superior, especially with the RSA feature for reliability, serviceability, and availability."

"PowerVM."

"IBM Power Systems' best features are its reliability, resilience, and performance per rack unit."

More IBM Power Systems pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is more stable than AMD for VMware."

"It is stable and easy to manage."

"It uses well known architecture and it's easy to develop for."

Cons

"The dispatch services are outsourced to small and medium companies, so we don't get consistent support."

"The price distance increases with the higher-end, more complex servers, and there is room for improvement."

"My only complaint would be if you're calling the specific fed line, sometimes they don't transfer you, and they want to get information that you can't give them before they do, even if you call the dedicated fed line, which is not always consistent, depending on the time of day."

"I would appreciate the capability to carry out live updates without the need to take the system offline."

"In the future, I would mainly like to see improvements in the speed of response of storage, as we aim to enhance our performance with non-rotating disks."

"After the expiration of support, it is sometimes challenging to find parts like hard drives, especially for obsolete models."

"There are a lot of data platforms around, but it would be helpful if we could perform some basic data operations on the server so we don't need an extra vendor. Azure is their Microsoft Cloud solution, and they collaborate with data companies like Databricks. We are also on the cloud and work with Databricks, but they could add some basic features so an enterprise doesn't need to go for extra Databricks to do their data things."

"The response time could be better."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers cons

"The solution is highly-priced."

"If you asked me what I'd like added, I'd say that it'd be nice if they ran GPUs, however, I know that's not the direction they're going. That said, I would appreciate it if they offered GPU support."

"Better manage heterogeneous footprints of all the different operating systems that are out there across one common interface."

"There are improvements that can be made on the technical side."

"Power Systems' price could always be lower."

"In the next release, I would like to see additional graphical dashboards to help the administrators access information more easily."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"Software testing and the compatibility of software products that are available in the market should be addressed."

More IBM Power Systems cons

"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."

"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."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The price is reasonable. You have to pay if you want quality. When we purchase something, we have to do some market analysis, and I haven't seen a significant difference compared to other solutions."

"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."

"The product's pricing is not good."

"Regarding the pricing, it seems fair."

"This is an expensive solution."

"It is very competitive. I have not been too involved in the licensing, but from a hardware perspective, I always find them to be competitive."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

"The solution's pricing is very, very high compared to other platforms."

"It's more about the value you get for the price. Considering its stability and performance, the pricing is good."

"Its price is too high."

"IBM Power Systems is a really expensive product."

"The additional software costs are high."

"The price of IBM Power Systems is expensive and could improve."

"IBM Power Systems is very expensive."

"The machine is good and has a comparatively good price."

More IBM Power Systems pricing and cost advice

"It is not expensive."

"The price is competitive."

"I rate the pricing a ten on a scale from one to ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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 ...

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What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.

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What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

Mainly, I would like to improve the speed of storage response. We would like to improve our performance by using disk...

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What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?

IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?

There are definitely areas for improvement, but that's not really from the technological side of things. I rarely fin...

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What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?

I use IBM Power Systems for online transactional processing, and in parts, also for online analytical processing. We ...

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What do you like most about Intel Server System?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is more stable than AMD for VMware.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Intel Server System?

I rate the pricing a ten on a scale from one to ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is very expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Intel Server System?

When you have an Intel Server System, the prices may be much higher since it is a different processor, making the sol...

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 40% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 29% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 10% of the time

Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 5% of the time

Fujitsu Primergy BX900 Series vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 1% of the time

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Competitors

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 16% of the time

Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 16% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 5% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 3% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems

Compared 1% of the time

More IBM Power Systems Competitors

Oracle SPARC Servers vs Intel Server System

Compared 20% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Intel Server System

Compared 3% of the time

More Intel Server System Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

August 2025

Download Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Power Systems

August 2025

Download IBM Power Systems product report

Buyer's Guide

Rack Servers

August 2025

Download Intel Server System product report

Also Known As

PowerEdge R

IBM OpenPOWER LC

No data available

Overview

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are designed to optimize performance and efficiency in a data center environment, supporting various applications. Dell stands as the leading vendor in accelerated servers for AI, commanding a 33.8% revenue share. Based on user reviews, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers supporting tasks from basic web hosting to more demanding applications like data analytics and virtualization. They are engineered to offer high performance, reliability, and scalability. With a focus on automation and integrated security, these servers simplify operations and protect against threats, making them a smart choice for businesses of all sizes.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are a robust, secure, and scalable solution that can meet the diverse needs of businesses, backed by comprehensive support. Benefits to look for in reviews include performance, reliability, scalability, and customer support.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers key features include:

Scalability: These servers can easily scale to meet growing business needs, supporting more workloads and processing power.
Integrated Security: From hardware to firmware to the operating system, Dell PowerEdge servers are designed with security in mind, offering layers of protection.
Energy Efficiency: Advanced thermal design and energy-smart technology help reduce operational costs and environmental impact.
Automation: With Dell EMC OpenManage, the management of servers is streamlined, allowing for automated deployment, monitoring, and updates.

In terms of implementation, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are used across various industries, from small businesses to large enterprises. They serve as the foundation for IT infrastructure, powering critical applications in healthcare, finance, education, and more. The adaptability of these servers means they can be tailored to specific industry needs, from handling large datasets in research institutions to supporting high-transaction databases in financial services.

Dell Technologies

IBM Power Systems are built to crush the most advanced data applications - from the mission-critical workloads you run today to the next generation of AI.

IBM

Storage is simple with the Intel Storage System JBOD2000 family, a 2U form factor system with support for twelve 3.5" LFF or twenty-four 2.5" SFF drives with a single or multi-cable connectivity. The JBOD2000 family includes redundant, hot-swap fans and the option for redundant, hot-swap power supplies. The JBOD2000S2 products support 6Gb/s SAS/SATA connectivity via industry-standard SFF-8088 connectors with the latest JBOD2000S3 version supports up to 12 Gb/s SAS connectivity via industry standard SFF-8644 connectors. All these JBOD offerings are designed to provide highly available and easily expandable storage for Intel servers at an affordable price point.

Intel

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco

Cipher

Emerson, Baosight, Pentamaster

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo and others in Rack Servers. Updated: August 2025.

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