HPE BladeSystem vs PowerEdge C comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.9, while Dell Technologies is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 14.1% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Dell Technologies’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

HPE BladeSystem

Read 139 HPE BladeSystem reviews

1,961 Views
1,287 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

PowerEdge C

Read 28 PowerEdge C reviews

133 Views
72 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HPE BladeSystem

PowerEdge C

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

PowerEdge C and HPE BladeSystem are competing products in the server market. PowerEdge C may have an edge in remote management and cost-effective pricing, while BladeSystem might excel in configurability and remote administration.

Features: PowerEdge C is equipped with iDRAC for advanced remote management, high CPU processing capabilities, and is valued for its reliability and strong performance with Oracle databases. The Intel RAS feature aids in hardware error recovery. HPE BladeSystem stands out for its configurability and centralized management with HPE OneView, space-saving modular design, and superior iLO management for remote administration.

Room for Improvement: For PowerEdge C, enhancements in memory capacity, AI integration, and competitive pricing are sought. BladeSystem users recommend improving license registration processes, backward compatibility, reducing firmware update downtime, and adjusting pricing to stay competitive.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both PowerEdge C and BladeSystem are largely on-premises solutions with hybrid options. PowerEdge has some flexibility but receives mixed support reviews due to navigation issues. HPE BladeSystem is positively rated for support, with concerns about offshore resources and support for newer needs.

Pricing and ROI: PowerEdge C's pricing opinions are mixed, with some seeing it as costly yet justified by its quality. HPE BladeSystem has a high initial cost, with users seeking better pricing compared to Cisco and Dell. Both products offer good ROI, though Dell's support costs are seen as more favorable.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE BladeSystem vs. PowerEdge C Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HPE BladeSystem vs. PowerEdge C

June 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:

Categories and Ranking

HPE BladeSystem

Ranking in Blade Servers

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

139

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

PowerEdge C

Ranking in Blade Servers

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE BladeSystem is 14.1%, down from 16.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PowerEdge C is 0.9%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Blade Servers

Featured Reviews

Fatai Akinwande

Specialist Datacenter and Server at IHS Towers

Enables you to manage all resources from a single dashboard using the OneView feature

In terms of improvements, I'd suggest enhancing the stability of the HPE BladeSystem, especially regarding network connectivity. We once had an issue where a system didn’t communicate with the network, and it took a while to diagnose the problem. Eventually, we discovered it was a motherboard issue, but we initially thought it was the network card. Improving the onboard administratordashboard to provide more granular insights, like clearly identifying faultycomponents, would make troubleshooting much more efficient. Aside from that, the system is superb and has been reliable.

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Al Vasek

Executive Business Development Manager, Cloud and Managed Services at Presidio Networked Solutions

Supports business apps and VDI with reliable compute

The solution is all about compute. The solutions are easy to handle, priced correctly, reliable, and dependable. Cisco is similar but more complex to configure and usually more expensive. My team supports a lot of Dell, focusing on hybrid environments like Azure Stack, splitting workloads between high compute needs in databases, which are expensive in the cloud, and other workloads in the cloud.

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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

"I like the stability."

"The most valuable feature of the HPE BladeSystem is the ease of management and the robust design."

"The density of the BladeSystem, that we can keep adding blades as we need more VMs."

"HPE BladeSystem provides good commuting performance."

"The solution is very easy to use."

"It is not expensive."

"The most valuable feature of the HPE BladeSystem is the ease of management."

"The most valuable feature of HPE BladeSystem is its upgradability and centralized configuration."

More HPE BladeSystem pros

"The product's initial setup phase was easy."

"It was not complex to deploy."

"I have found the compression capability the most valuable feature."

"PowerEdge servers have high CPU processing power, and the support is also good."

"The scalability of the product is good since it offers high performance and capacity."

"I like the feature that allows for a backup and that is suitable for me."

"It is a scalable platform."

"The product has high performance and no downtime."

More PowerEdge C pros

Cons

"The setup process is complex."

"The price of the solution has room for improvement."

"We had a few hard drives that crashed, and we couldn't find them locally. We've tried internationally, but we are still struggling to get its spare parts. This is the main challenge that we have faced with this solution. Fortunately, the other drives are still working. There should be easy availability of spare parts. I should be able to request a quotation online from HPE for things that I am not able to get locally. Currently, I can order online, but when I type the serial number, most of the time, it is rejected. I don't know why it is happening. It could be because the company that sold us the system didn't buy it through the normal HPE channel. HPE should assist us as users to get the spare parts. Its security needs to be beefed up. I would like some security features. It was also challenging for us to set it up because we didn't get enough training from them."

"In general, there is a 10% to 15% price gap compared to competitors."

"I would like to see the upgrade path a little bit smoother."

"It is really stable, however the motherboard sometimes crashes."

"OA updates and upgrades have to be made simpler."

"The scalability is limited because you only have a 16-server by chassis."

More HPE BladeSystem cons

"The pricing of PowerEdge solutions is very high nowadays."

"It should be improved in terms of future expansion. We should be able to have additional free slots for future extensions in terms of memory."

"Customer service and support have been generally helpful but can be slow due to the need to navigate different specialists."

"For improvements, the iDRAC application isn't very intuitive to handle."

"There is some trouble with the stability part of the product, making it an area where improvements are required."

"It would be better if it worked with SMTP servers on the cloud. Right now, it only allows notifications via the SMTP server. In the next release, I would like to have a better processor."

"It would be better if the solution provided simplified storage and hardware with an integrated one-tier architecture."

"There could be some more ports added in the future."

More PowerEdge C cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its pricing was good. We selected this solution because it was within our budget. We paid just once when we bought it. We never bought any license."

"Their licensing program is pretty simple."

"Regarding the cost, HPE BladeSystem is not cheap. The solution and its support are costly, and there are challenges with renewal and pricing, especially in Nigeria, due to the dollar rate and FX issues. However, it is reliable. I don't have specific figures for licensing costs, as the procurement and finance departments handle them."

"It is not expensive, really, in this class of server products."

"When you purchase HPE BladeSystem you have to pay for the support service. The first three years are covered under the warranty, and for any further support, you have to pay annually. When comparing the cost of HPE BladeSystem to other vendors, the fees are less expensive."

"The licenses for HPE BladeSystem are perpetual."

"The prices for the HPE Virtual Connect Modules are expensive compared to other I/O Modules available."

"The price could be cheaper."

More HPE BladeSystem pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"PowerEdge C is very expensive, but personally, I think it's worth the price."

"There is a need to pay towards the annual subscription-based licensing model offered by the solution. The product is moderately priced. Price is a critical issue, and it is always good to have moderately priced solutions."

"We buy licenses for the solution's advanced features."

"The cost depends on the configuration."

"I would rate the pricing 4 out of 10, in terms of its cost expense."

"Despite the slightly higher price, we prefer Dell due to the high quality of their products."

"I don't handle the financial aspects, so I don't know the exact costs, but in terms of the value it brings, it's worth it."

More PowerEdge C pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Venture Capital & Private Equity Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How would you choose between HPE's Bladesystem and Synergy?

For me, choosing between HPE’s Bladesystem and Synergy came down to which solution was more powerful, reliable, and stable. It turns out Bladesystem was the winner. Bladesystem is excellent because...

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What do you like most about HPE BladeSystem?

The solution is scalable, offering flexibility and expansion options to meet changing business needs.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE BladeSystem?

With around 19 years of exposure in working with various servers, including HPE, I encounter challenges in identifying reasonable prices during the setup cost and licensing process, especially for ...

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What do you like most about PowerEdge C?

The solution provides good support and service.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PowerEdge C?

PowerEdge is quite a costly solution, and I would rate the pricing around seven or eight on a scale from one to ten with ten being the most expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with PowerEdge C?

With reference architectures like VX rack, the update process is quite painful. They could automate or simplify it more. There are prerequisites to go through, and that's usually the only time-cons...

See all answers

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Product Reports

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HPE BladeSystem

June 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

May 2025

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Also Known As

HP ProLiant BL Series Servers, HP ProLiant BladeSystem

No data available

Overview

HP ProLiant BladeSystem share power, cooling, network, and storage infrastructure via the blade enclosure. Since equipment is not needed for each server, you get a dramatic reduction in power distribution units, power cables, LAN and SAN switches, connectors, adapters, and cables. And you can add the newest-generation technologies by simply changing individual components.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

PowerEdge C help you to maximize hyperscale performance with up to 4 independent server nodes, flexible storage and shared infrastructure in a compact 2U chassis.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

EMIS Health

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

Buyer's Guide

HPE BladeSystem vs. PowerEdge C

June 2025

Free Report: HPE BladeSystem vs. PowerEdge C

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