My review of the UGREEN NASync DXP2800 2-Bay Desktop NAS
For many years, I wanted to get a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device to share files between the PCs and other devices on my home network. However, the high prices of good NAS models always stopped me. A decent model with reliable hardware and software could easily cost $700 or more. So I set up what you might call a "poor man's NAS" by connecting an external USB drive to my router and sharing it across my home network. However, I constantly ran into problems with this setup (I use Windows on my PCs). For some reason, my PCs would frequently lose access to the shared drives, and it often took a frustratingly long time to reattach the network drive.
For instance, one PC on my network might still have access to the shared drive, while another PC wouldn’t be able to access it at all. This issue persisted for years and was a constant headache.
It’s not just me, either—my friend, who is also an advanced PC user, experienced the same problems with external USB drives connected to a router.
But recently, UGREEN entered the NAS market, offering a much more affordable option. Their UGREEN NASync DXP2800 2-Bay Desktop NAS model is priced at just $300, and that's the one I decided to try.
After a few months of using it, I can confidently say I’m absolutely thrilled with this little NAS! It’s incredibly powerful for its price and is actually more capable than some $700 models from Synology (one of the top leaders in the NAS market). I loved it so much that I even bought another one as a gift for a friend (the one who also used an external USB drive attached to his router and having issues with it), and he’s very happy with it too.
Performance and Setup
To maximize performance, I purchased a 5 Gbps USB-to-Ethernet adapter from UGREEN ($23), connected it to the NAS, and plugged the Ethernet cable into the adapter instead of the NAS’s native port. This upgrade gave me 5 Gbps speeds, allowing me to transfer files to the SSDs in the NAS at over 500 MBytes/s.
Since my router doesn’t support high speeds, I also added a TrendNet 10Gbit switch (model TEG-S762) with 4 x 2.5G RJ-45 Base-T Ports and 2 x 10G RJ-45 Ports. I connected both the NAS and my main PC to this switch (to the 10G ports, of course), enabling them to communicate directly through the switch instead of the slower router.
Software Features
While the number of 1-click installable apps is limited, the NAS includes a Docker app. With Docker, you can install virtually any application from thousands of available containers. To install apps, I ask Grok AI for the correct docker run command, which installs and starts the desired container. Using this method, I’ve been able to install everything I need.
The NAS’s UI allows you to easily add users and configure remote access, so you can access your NAS from outside your local network with minimal setup. For torrent downloads, qBittorrent is natively supported, meaning it can be installed with just one click. I now download torrents directly on the NAS instead of keeping my PC running overnight for large downloads. The downloaded files are, of course, available to all devices on my home network.
I share storage using the SMB (Samba) protocol. This is typically the default protocol for sharing folders, so don’t let the term SMB intimidate you—you won’t need to do anything special or complex to share folders. And the shared folders are immediately & reliably accessible from all my PCs & other devices. The transfer speeds are consistently fast, and I’ve had no issues with shares becoming unavailable. This is a huge improvement compared to the constant problems I experienced when using external drives attached to my router. I suspect this reliability is due to the NAS supporting the latest SMB protocol versions and supporting them well.
The NAS also allows you to connect and share external drives via USB, which is a handy feature. It has a good number of USB ports - 4, including 2 x 1 Gbps ports.
Music and Media
One feature I find absolutely essential is the NAS’s built-in Music app. It lets you maintain a music library, create playlists, and automatically updates the library whenever you copy new music to the designated folder. Thanks to the NAS’s remote access feature, I can listen to my music library from anywhere in the world, not just at home. As someone who listens to music for a few hours a day, I absolutely love this feature!
Document Management
The UGREEN NAS is excellent for managing documents. For example, if I’m at a doctor’s appointment and realize I forgot my insurance card, I can easily open the UGREEN app on my phone, access the document stored on the NAS, and share the necessary information. Similarly, when I return purchases (e.g., from Amazon or Walmart), I take photos of the return receipts with my phone and save them on the NAS in the /documents/returns folder with descriptive filenames like HeadphonesSennheiserHD820return.jpg. This system keeps everything organized and easily accessible.
Comparison with the leaders in the NAS market
Synology likely holds the largest share of the NAS market. However, its hardware falls short for the price. Let’s take a closer look.
UGREEN DXP2800 uses eMMC for its system drive. eMMC (Embedded MultiMediaCard) is a type of flash storage commonly used in mobile devices due to its low power consumption, which is typically 2–10 times lower than that of SSDs. While eMMC is usually slower than SSDs, it outperforms HDDs in both sequential and random access. Sequential read speeds range from 150–400 MB/s, and write speeds range from 100–250 MB/s. For random reads and writes, eMMC is significantly faster than HDDs, offering 50–500 times higher IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second). The IOPS difference does not directly translate to MB/s, but it’s closely related. For 4K random reads/writes, eMMC typically achieves ~10–120 MB/s, while HDDs achieve ~0.3–3 MB/s.
Turning to other hardware specifications, no 2- or 4-bay Synology NAS matches the CPU power of the UGREEN DXP2800. The only Synology model with a comparable CPU is the 8-bay DS1823xs+, which can be yours for a mere $1,900 :)
In comparison, Synology’s offerings look underwhelming next to UGREEN’s. There’s simply no contest.
Power consumption, temperature, noise
NAS devices are typically designed for low energy consumption, and the UGREEN NASync DXP2800 is no exception. According to UGREEN's official email, the power consumption for this model is as follows:
- Idle: 9–10W
- Disks Running: 16–27W
- Full Load: 51W
When operating the DXP2800 without HDDs, the typical noise levels in different fan modes (adjustable via Control Panel > Hardware & Power) are:
- Quiet Mode: 29–34 dB
- Default Mode: ~40 dB
- Full Speed Mode: Potentially exceeds 50 dB
These noise levels are quite low and barely noticeable in a quiet room. For comparison, my nearby mini-PC is significantly louder than the NAS when both are running. Of course, noise levels can be much higher if you install a very noisy HDD :)
The DXP2800 maintains relatively low temperatures. Currently, under light workload (mainly just running qBittorrent), my NVMe and SATA SSDs are all in the 32–36°C range, while the CPU stays around 52°C. Initially, I was very concerned about the lack of space for NVMe SSD heatsinks. However, heat dissipation is managed effectively through a thermal pad between the SSDs and the aluminum chassis, which draws heat away from the bottom of the NVMe SSDs. It’s also important to note that the DXP2800’s M.2 slots use PCIe 3.0, which limits speed (still very fast for NAS use) but results in significantly lower temperatures compared to faster slots. An NVMe SSD in a PCIe 4.0 slot typically runs 5–15°C hotter than in a PCIe 3.0 slot, while a PCIe 5.0 slot can increase temperatures by 10–30°C for the same SSD.
For peace of mind, I tested the NVMe SSD temperatures during extended full-load conditions, and they never exceeded 42°C—a very safe temperature for SSDs.
Final Thoughts
After months of use, I’ve experienced zero issues with this NAS. It’s reliable, powerful, and packed with features that far exceed my expectations for its price. I’m absolutely happy with it and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an affordable and capable NAS solution.
Disclaimer: I have published this review on Amazon. To clarify, if Amazon decides to flag the review as stolen from this source, it is not. The review is published on Amazon under my name, Pavel B.
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