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HPE Apollo Systems vs PowerEdge C comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Density Optimized Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Rack Servers (6th)
PowerEdge C
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Blade Servers (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 22.3%, down from 30.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PowerEdge C is 25.0%, up from 18.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Density Optimized Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Gayan Senadheera - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers higher capacities compared to other solutions, making it suitable for handling large storage needs
In terms of improvement, we could benefit from some training. If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo. Currently, we haven't received any specific training related to HPE Apollo throughout my career. If HPE Apollo provides training, we can share the knowledge with our partners, which could lead to more opportunities for HPE Apollo in the market. Deal protection and other support measures would also be beneficial, as they could help us achieve better results in this market.
Al Vasek - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"HPE Apollo's most valuable feature is the ability to expand our storage capacity."
"Absolutely being able to mount into Omni-Path architecture, HFIs on those nodes, because we were the very first site in the world"
"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."
"The solution is well documented in a data sheet."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"It enables us to implement software defined solutions very easily, because Apollo servers are certified for use with Linux systems"
"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."
"HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products."
"The scalability of the solution met our needs."
"The hybrid solution is much more stable than other products."
"The solution provides good support and service."
"I like the feature that allows for a backup and that is suitable for me."
"PowerEdge servers have high CPU processing power, and the support is also good."
"It was not complex to deploy."
"The security of the product is very good."
"The product stability has been excellent."
 

Cons

"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."
"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."
"We are quite happy with it, but its price and storage density can be better."
"The solution's deployment, security, and scalability need improvement."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"We would like to see SimpliVity on top of the Apollo."
"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."
"Lustre seems to be just a little bit unstable overall."
"The product’s pricing could be a little cheaper."
"The need to update the firmware and check if there is any bug in the product is one of the areas where Dell PowerEdge C falls short and needs to make improvements."
"Customer service and support have been generally helpful but can be slow due to the need to navigate different specialists."
"There has been an increase in quality issues."
"It would be easier if data center management and disaster recovery were combined."
"The solution’s pricing could be cheaper."
"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."
"An area where the product lacks and needs to consider improvement is by allowing it to integrate with some AI tool for monitoring."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"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."
"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."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"PowerEdge C is a product that is priced at a medium range, so it is not too expensive."
"PowerEdge C is very expensive, but personally, I think it's worth the price."
"PowerEdge C is a reasonably priced product, and the pricing depends on how many years you need the product. The cost also includes the support."
"The licensing cost of PowerEdge C is very high."
"The price could be reduced."
"Despite the slightly higher price, we prefer Dell due to the high quality of their products."
"We buy licenses for the solution's advanced features."
"The product costs can be high, especially for disks and other components."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
12%
Venture Capital & Private Equity Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Apollo?
HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products.
What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a particular product that is under warranty.
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux servers.
What do you like most about PowerEdge C?
The solution provides good support and service.
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.
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...
 

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Weta Digital
NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Apollo Systems vs. PowerEdge C and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.