UGREEN NASync DXP480T Plus All-Flash NAS

Whoa, baby, was this thing expensive - NAS, 4 2TB WD Black NvME drives and 32GB of RAM, I'll let you do the math. And the i5 CPU, coupled with the NvME drives, makes this thing blazing fast. Went together easily enough although a couple of the recessed screw holes were too narrow for my magnet-tip screwdriver and peeling the plastic off the thermal pads was a pain. Set-up wasn't too difficult and it worked immediately. Some things aren't immediately clear, like changing the password, for instance. Anyone's who's used Synology DSM will find the interface familiar. Unlike Synology, you can change the desktop wallpaper. The app store isn't as robust as Synology's but as I only use it for storage, that doesn't bother me too much. I haven't installed any of the media apps nor the Sync and Back-up app though I might take a look at that one. Size-wise, it's smaller than my M2 Mac Mini but about the same height. Noise is almost non-existent. The fan is noticeable when starting up/rebooting but in normal operation is pretty silent at the 2 feet away it sits. I'm currently running a virus scan as I write this and there is a varying whisper of sound but hardly objectionable. The top of the case is warm to the touch but that's it, merely warm, nothing even approaching toasty. One of the best features for me is the built-in wifi as it allows the VLAN app on my AppleTV in the bedroom to access the UGreen. (I had lost the ability to access my other two NAS when I upgraded from an Eero router to a Unifi.) I'm very satisfied with this NAS. I'm not a content creator so going from 2TB to 6TB is way overkill for my need, but I love hardware and I had a little money stashed away.

Beautiful hardware. Nearly all of the exterior outer shell is made of grey-painted aluminum, the LED light on the power button gives out a refined light (i believe it can be turned off in settings as well). This looks gorgeous on a desk. When used as centralized external storage/data server only (i.e. not running it as a computer with demanding applications or virtual machine) the fan doesn't come on when in an air conditioned room so it can be entirely silent. My unit is on my desk 3 feet from my ears. I only use it to store data on my home network, a VPN application (NordVPN) is installed on it and I have not heard the fan once. The shell does get warm to the touch. I cannot compare on the speed since my LAN is only 1 GBe which this unit maxes out with ease so does other ugreen nas'es using spinning hard drives. It seems that the RAM is used to cache the SMB file transfers. So as long as your files are smaller than the installed (and free) RAM these units will be faster than a 1 GBe LAN no matter what drives are permanently storing the data. It is a bit pricey but you are getting a great product with very phenomenal hardware (i5 processor, 8 GB of DDR5 RAM, 128 GB boot NVMe drive). If underused as a centralized data storage device, it should last many years working in the background silently. The software is easy to use and beginner-friendly (as someone just merely interested in one's own PC). My only suggestion to UGREEN is to allow a direct option to install programs like NordVPN meshnet or Tailscale to allow personalized remote access. I am running the former by installing it through the Linux terminal (via ssh). Being able to access from anywhere the files stored in my home over a VPN of my choice (instead of the Ugreen app) gives this device a whole new dimension of usabililty: for example NordVPN Meshnet allows other PC and android machines to securely mount shared folders hosted in this NAS like they are on a LAN but from anywhere in the world. This feature is the last piece of the puzzle to replace cloud services. however, the user must have the option to chose their own VPN. So Ugreen, please streamline the installation of VPN such as NordVPN. Configured like this, this NAS is central to my workflow.

Beware that the enclosure is too shallow to accept the Samsung 990 Pro w/ Heatsink SSD--the non-heatsink version must be used. I would guess no SSD over 0.5" thick will fit in the enclosure.

I’m very excited for this gadget. It was really very easy all the installation. I see that I have to improve the settings right now. I'm sure it will be easier to spend time as a user. Other detail, I’m using only for editing directly and storage my project 3D CAD.

The performance of this NAS is amazing. It easy to set up and manage with the software and adding storage. This thing has been a workhorse, allowing me to install docker apps. And run a lot of services within my home. The solid state drives make it super fast and I have no complaint about the unit. It is pricey, but it’s well worth the investment.