HPE Apollo Systems vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

HPE Apollo Systems vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers

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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:

Categories and Ranking

HPE Apollo Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

9th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (2nd)

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...

Ranking in Rack Servers

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 5.7%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 7.3%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers	7.3%
HPE Apollo Systems	5.7%
Other	87.0%

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Gökhan DURMAZ

Account Manager at TD SYNNEX

High-quality integration and strong support have optimized our rack server operations

HPE Apollo Systems is a good product because it has better support and best quality with integrity. When I speak about integrity, I speak about GPU integration or other integrations such as GPU integration, backup software integration, and hypervisor integration. Regarding the integration of high-speed interconnectors in HPE Apollo Systems, they impact computational tasks because the high-speed interconnect affects performance. I don't remember the specifics. Regarding the cooling technologies, they help to reduce operational costs. The positive impact I see from HPE Apollo Systems is that support is good and quality is good. In general, HPE Apollo Systems appears to be for rack servers with some optimization capabilities.

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Mike Bellemans

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When we moved to the Apollo and all flash drives, we gained a lot of performance on that."

"We previously used the DL380s; compared to those, Apollo has roughly four times the amount of space per server, which means we can really do a lot."

"Stability has been extremely good."

"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."

"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."

"With HPE Apollo, we can propose configurations with many hard drives, making it suitable for large storage needs."

"We're going to buy another Apollo 6500. We may configure it with half the number of GPUs because that may be all we need. In a sense, we can see the Apollo 6500 being so powerful that we only need half the GPU capability that we have now."

"HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products."

More HPE Apollo Systems pros

"The installation and configuration are a bit difficult but the product's performance is unbeatable."

"The server itself covers all of the bases — my clients are really happy with it."

"The reliability is extremely good, it is very stable, it can run forever."

"Technical support was very good. IBM support is very helpful."

"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are scalable."

"It is stable and reliable, and we find the performance to be good."

"The pricing is the most valuable aspect of the solution."

"Technical support has been very good and we've been satisfied with the level of service we get."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers pros

Cons

"We are struggling a little bit with some of the configuration we need to do, particularly with write capability to drives."

"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."

"The solution's deployment, security, and scalability need improvement."

"If the workload is not purely sequential, then performance in the IO is less than optimal because it's optimized for streaming processing."

"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."

"If there's anything that hasn't been that stable, then it is the Lustre file system."

"The support from HPE Apollo could be better, they are making knowledgeable."

"Lustre seems to be just a little bit unstable overall."

More HPE Apollo Systems cons

"There are other solutions that are less expensive."

"The solution's initial setup was complicated."

"I would like the solution to be improved by having more advanced utilities."

"It is quite an expensive product. Its price can be improved."

"Improvements could be made in the network cards, particularly by offering options for higher-speed cards beyond the current 10 GB."

"The cost is a bit pricey."

"Its price could be better. Its price is sometimes an issue for our clients."

"The solution can be a bit expensive in that there are other cheaper options. While I do not know the exact pricing, I can say that the functionality is expensive."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."

"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."

"It is too expensive. Because we are a university and we have to look for our money, many times we buy some refurbished machines or equipment at reasonable prices from IBM or Lenovo. We are a little bit limited in terms of money, and we buy as much as we can. If they were cheaper, we would buy more."

"Its pricing is very competitive."

"As the costs got high, we had to use the virtualization feature to consolidate the server farm."

"The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is competitive."

"Your budget determines the scalability."

"The cost of the solution depends entirely on the client. There are not any additional costs other than the standard licensing fee."

"Other than the standard licensing fees there are no other additional costs. The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could be better, and the availability of the solution could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

University

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	9

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?

It is too early to say what improvements HPE Apollo Systems could implement because the report still needs to come out and the customer needs to properly evaluate the solution.

What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?

My main use case for HPE Apollo Systems is replacing many of the servers and storage boxes at one of the customer's sites to achieve workload optimization and optimized solutions. Additionally, whe...

What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?

My advice for someone considering HPE Apollo Systems is that if they are looking for consolidation and their workload involves high availability requirements, or if they want to utilize GPUs, then ...

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...

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....

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Comparisons

Compared 12% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 12% of the time

HPE Moonshot vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerEdge XE-Series vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 7% of the time

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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers

Compared 30% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers

Compared 22% of the time

IBM Power Systems vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers

Compared 6% of the time

AMAX ClusterMax vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers

Compared 3% of the time

More Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers Competitors

Product Reports

HPE Apollo Systems

Download HPE Apollo Systems product report

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers product report

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo

SR Series, Lenovo SR Series, ThinkSystem Rack Servers, IBM Rack Servers, ThinkSystem SR Series, Lenovo Rack Servers,

Overview

HPE Apollo Systems deliver high compute and storage density, scalability, and environmental efficiency with exceptional performance for AI initiatives and data capturing across diverse applications.

HPE Apollo Systems are characterized by their dense compute and storage capabilities, offering flexibility in configurations to meet the demands of AI, deep learning, and high-performance computing. Their management software simplifies deployment, ensuring effective performance across tasks that require significant storage. While Apollo Systems are designed for efficiency and scalability, improvements can be made in security, tech support, and integration with hypervisors and backup solutions. Enhancing cooling and licensing processes, connectivity, and faster drive writing capabilities are also areas for growth.

What are the key features of HPE Apollo Systems?

High Compute Density: Supports intense processing needs efficiently.
Scalability: Easily adaptable to growing data demands.
Environmental Efficiency: Minimizes energy consumption, enhancing sustainability.
Flexible Configurations: Caters to a range of applications from AI to data storage.
Reliable Performance: Consistently delivers under various workloads.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Cost Effectiveness: Reduces expenditure with its efficient design.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly fits into diverse IT environments.
Performance Enhancement: Boosts operational efficiency and output.
Easy Deployment: Streamlines the setup process for quick operation.

HPE Apollo Systems find extensive use in sectors such as telecom, supporting high-performance computing and AI workloads. They optimize Linux servers, replace legacy systems, and serve as storage solutions across industries. Their applications span from big data management in Splunk clusters to backup solutions in medical faculties, enhancing compute power and storage within compact racks.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers offer robust performance with efficient management, easy VMware integration, and high stability. Known for powerful hardware and simple maintenance, they ensure effective technical support and space-saving design, meeting high industry standards.

Designed for virtualization, data centers, and storage solutions, Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers are equipped with scalable processors and RAM updates. XClarity tools simplify server management, providing a single dashboard for upgrades and monitoring. Effective technical support and Predictive Failure Analysis further enhance their reliability. Despite some management port and expandability issues, they remain a compelling choice for comprehensive IT infrastructure.

What features define Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers?

Efficient Management: XClarity tools simplify upgrades and monitoring.
Robust Hardware: Offers powerful processors and easy maintenance.
Predictive Failure Analysis: Minimizes downtime with early problem detection.
Space-Saving Design: Optimizes physical server footprint.
VMware Integration: Facilitates seamless virtualization processes.
Network Connectivity: Ensures reliable, high-performance connections.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Performance Stability: Delivers consistent and reliable operations.
Cost Efficiency: Combines good pricing with power efficiency.
Technical Support: Comprehensive assistance enhances user satisfaction.
Scalability: Supports growth with easy upgrades and cloud compatibility.
Energy Efficiency: Reduces operating costs through power-efficient design.

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers play a critical role across industries such as BFSI, media, and education, supporting complex applications like ERP systems and specialized educational software. Their scalable, hybrid deployment options facilitate seamless integration in both on-premise and cloud environments, ensuring high customer satisfaction.

Lenovo

Sample Customers

Weta Digital

immixGroup, Komsomolskaya Pravda, SRG Global, Seekr, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, jKool, Tennis Australia, VEKA, Netpoints, Gamma Powersports

HPE Apollo Systems vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers