HPE Synergy vs PowerEdge C comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while Dell Technologies is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 20.6% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Dell Technologies’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

HPE Synergy

Read 90 HPE Synergy reviews

3,344 Views
2,408 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

PowerEdge C

Read 28 PowerEdge C reviews

419 Views
138 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HPE Synergy

PowerEdge C

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

PowerEdge C and HPE Synergy are two server solutions in the high-performance server market. PowerEdge C is often chosen for its affordability and robust support, while HPE Synergy is preferred for its superior feature set and advanced capabilities, particularly in composable infrastructure.

Features: PowerEdge C offers ease of management, reduced power consumption, and hot-swappable nodes, making it ideal for virtualization and critical applications. Its iDRAC feature ensures streamlined remote server management and high stability. HPE Synergy's standout feature is its composable infrastructure, which provides flexibility in managing compute, storage, and networking. It integrates seamlessly with HPE OneView, enhancing its manageability and orchestration capabilities.

Room for Improvement: PowerEdge C can improve its cost structure and update processes. It also faces compatibility challenges with certain virtualization platforms. HPE Synergy could develop enhanced event management and better integration with non-HPE platforms. Additionally, optimizing its update processes could be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both PowerEdge C and HPE Synergy provide hybrid and on-premises deployment options. PowerEdge C is typically recognized for easier initial setup, whereas HPE Synergy is valued for its composable nature. PowerEdge C receives positive feedback on technical support despite occasional delays. HPE Synergy faces similar issues with offshore support, affecting satisfaction levels.

Pricing and ROI: PowerEdge C is regarded as cost-effective, offering good value through competitive pricing and a commendable ROI due to its performance and lifecycle cost. HPE Synergy, while more expensive, is valued for its reliability and extensive features, providing good ROI in complex environments despite a higher total cost of ownership.

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

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy vs. PowerEdge C

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 862,077 peers since 2012

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 Synergy

Ranking in Blade Servers

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Composable Infrastructure (1st)

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 July 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Synergy is 20.6%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PowerEdge C is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Blade Servers

Featured Reviews

CarlosArdila

Project Manager, Information Technology at Telelago

Helps grow horizontally or vertically within one box or chassis

The initial setup is very easy. We deployed this in two days, including installation, system setup, firmware upgrades, configuration, and network connection. By the next day, we were already deploying virtual machines. We initially began with the Blade system. As the migration to SAP HANA approached, it seemed prudent to upgrade our hardware. Consequently, we facilitated their transition from the Blade system to Synergy. Subsequently, we collaborated closely with the SAP consultancy company to oversee the migration process, ensuring seamless integration of all workloads and sub-environments. We have four people working on the deployment, including a project manager, two specialists, and one tech support.

Read full review

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.

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

"I believe, compared to the C7000, it delivers a significant amount of innovation and flexibility,"

"We build out a whole stack at one time, so we don't have to worry about it until that stack is full, then that gives us time to get the next one ready."

"Improved storage, scalability, and ease-of-use."

"It makes it simpler for me to manage my environment. It is one pane of glass, compared to multiple."

"Shorter delivery times. Where we now have a delivery time of about six weeks, we hope to go back to days."

"For me, this is the best frame server technology available in the market. We can compare it to Cisco UCS. It is robust and stable, and it is also easy to deploy and scale. Their support is the best."

"The solution has decreased our deployment time by 10 to 20 percent."

"It is a good product for hypervisors."

More HPE Synergy pros

"Every new version is better than the previous one."

"The solutions are easy to handle, priced correctly, reliable, and dependable."

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

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

"With the tool, we can easily upgrade and ensure compatibility between operating systems, hardwares and drivers. Among other features, the hardware also stands out because it is certified and aligns with the processor manufacturers like Intel. This enables them to offer the latest options which are not available with other suppliers."

"The most significant benefits, in my experience, are the configuration, reliability of the equipment, and the support of Dell."

"Technical support has been helpful."

"The scalability of the solution met our needs."

More PowerEdge C pros

Cons

"The solution should support Cisco or other vendor interconnect models."

"The speed in OneView and how it updates the entire configuration needs improvement. If they can do that, and it could be a little more clear on what impact different actions will have for certain things, that would be good."

"The deployment time of a system through OneView is pretty slow, but apparently that's being addressed in an upcoming update."

"One of the features I want to see, which I will see with OneView 5.0, is to have all the OneView consoles in a single pane of glass. That will make it easy to see everything in one place and not have to log in to multiple consoles."

"The post-sales activity needs improvement. There is some sort of convoluted spreadsheet that you have to fill in prior to the platform being delivered. It seems a little bit out-of-date and inefficient. Surely, there is some sort of web page configuration tool online that a customer could use. Then, it could be validated by somebody else, like a partner or HPE technical resource, then that would be a lot more efficient."

"We'd like to see faster networking in the back-end."

"Technical support was time consuming and unsatisfactory. The initial product setup was complex, lasing around three weeks to a month."

"It has affected the productivity of our development team in a bad way. When we first stood the hardware up 18 months ago, the image streaming capacity and capability were not very good at all. We had hoped that it would allow us to be more composable and be able to switch over from one version of an operating system to another version of an operating system. However, it wasn't ready for prime time yet. Therefore, we had to go back to a deployment of bare metal install. We are still waiting and trying to figure out how we can do the composable infrastructure."

More HPE Synergy cons

"Its customer service could be better."

"HP is a little bit lower in terms of price."

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

"The solution’s pricing could be cheaper."

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

"We had a few minor issues with compatibility on the latest version during the installation process."

"The reliability needs improvement."

"There has been an increase in quality issues."

More PowerEdge C cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price point is a little high. We were able to get a good deal on a promotion, to go with it. It would be nice to see the prices come down a little bit."

"In our whole environment, the cost is in the millions. On this particular chassis, the annual cost is 12 blades times approximately $40,000."

"There is a perpetual license given when you purchase HPE Synergy."

"We bought everything outright to start with. We don't do much consumption-based stuff."

"We do a biannual renewal. I know how much that renewal is, but I don't know how much it breaks down to be just Synergy, since we have our VMware, all of our physical equipment, etc. all rolled up into one renewal, which is a little over $300,000 every two years. However, only a subset of that is the Synergy product."

"We don't have to pay for Synergy because it's part of our plan."

"VMware is part of the cost. We bought the chassis, we bought the solution. The blades are roughly running us $60,000 a pop right now."

"It costs us around $60,000 a year."

More HPE Synergy 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."

"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."

"The cost depends on the configuration."

"PowerEdge C is a product that is priced at a medium range, so it is not too expensive."

"The product costs can be high, especially for disks and other components."

More PowerEdge C pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Blade Servers solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

862,077 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

11%

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about HPE Synergy?

It is a good product for hypervisors.

See all answers

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

Pricing in the blade server market is very competitive, with HPE offering a competitive price. Competitor products include Dell's MX series and Cisco's UCS X series.

See all answers

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

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Synergy

Compared 30% of the time

HPE BladeSystem vs HPE Synergy

Compared 23% of the time

Dell PowerEdge M vs HPE Synergy

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco UCS B-Series vs HPE Synergy

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Superdome X vs HPE Synergy

Compared 4% of the time

More HPE Synergy Competitors

Huawei FusionServer X Series vs PowerEdge C

Compared 54% of the time

Cray CS-Storm vs PowerEdge C

Compared 33% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs PowerEdge C

Compared 13% of the time

More PowerEdge C Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy

July 2025

Download HPE Synergy product report

Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

July 2025

Download PowerEdge C product report

Overview

HPE Synergy, the first platform built from the ground up for Composable Infrastructure, offers an experience that empowers IT to create and deliver new value instantly and continuously. It is a single infrastructure that reduces operational complexity for traditional workloads and increases operational velocity for the new breed of applications and services. Through a single interface, HPE Synergy composes physical and virtual compute, storage, and fabric pools into any configuration for any application. As an extensible platform, it easily enables a broad range of applications and operational models such as virtualization, hybrid cloud, and DevOps. With HPE Synergy, IT can become not just the internal service provider but the business partner to rapidly launch new applications that become the business.

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

HudsonAlpha, Virgin Media, EMIS, United

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

Buyer's Guide

HPE Synergy vs. PowerEdge C

July 2025

Free Report: HPE Synergy vs. PowerEdge C

Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Synergy vs. PowerEdge C and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

862,077 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our HPE Synergy vs. PowerEdge C report.

See our list of best Blade Servers vendors.

We monitor all Blade Servers reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.