Sumatra Slim Belly Reviews : Is It Worth It?

If you’re tired of paying Synology/QNAP prices for basic file storage, backups, and Plex streaming, the UGREEN NASync DXP2800 is the smartest purchase you can make in 2025. At around $279 barebones, you get 12th-gen Intel power, 10GbE-ready networking, and a modern UGOS Pro system that actually keeps getting updates. I bought mine on day one and I’ve never looked back. Let’s talk about why.

My Experience With UGREEN NASync DXP2800

I’m the kind of person who has 40 TB of family photos, 8 years of 4K GoPro footage, and a ridiculous Plex library.

My old Synology DS918+ was choking, so when UGREEN dropped the NASync series on Kickstarter I threw money at the screen for the DXP2800.

The day it arrived I was honestly shocked at the build. Metal chassis, proper ventilation, and it’s dead silent even with two 18 TB IronWolf drives spinning.

Setup took me 27 minutes from unboxing to having my files copying over at 280 MB/s thanks to the built-in 2.5GbE port linked with my switch.

I immediately installed Docker, spun up Plex, Photoprism, and Immich, and everything just worked.

Four months later it’s still my daily driver. Wake-on-LAN works perfectly, the Android and iOS apps are surprisingly polished, and remote access through UGREEN’s relay is faster than Synology QuickConnect ever was for me. I run automated backups from three Macs and two Windows PCs every night without thinking about it. Power draw? 14 W idle with two HDDs and 28 W under heavy load. My electricity bill thanks me.

The only time I open the case now is to blow out dust. Otherwise it sits under my desk and I forget it exists, which is exactly what I want from a NAS.

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Pros Of UGREEN NASync DXP2800

• Blazing real-world performance: The Intel N100 with Quick Sync destroys 4K transcoding in Plex. I routinely stream three 4K HDR streams with direct play and one 1080p transcode at the same time, zero buffering.
• Price-to-performance king: $279 for a 12th-gen quad-core, DDR5 slot, M.2 NVMe caching, and HDMI 2.0 output. Show me another brand that gives you this in 2025.
• 10GbE ready out of the box: It has a PCIe 3.0 x2 slot. Drop in a $40 10GbE card and you’re flying at 1.1 GB/s transfers if your network supports it.
• UGOS Pro keeps improving: Monthly updates since launch. They added Bcache support, better ZFS snapshots, and native Tailscale integration. That’s unheard of from a new player.
• Silent and cool: Even in my 30 °C office, drive temps never go above 42 °C. Fans barely spin up.
• Two proper 2.5GbE ports with link aggregation: I get 550 MB/s writes when both my PC and Mac copy files at once.
• DDR5 memory support: 8 GB stock, expandable to 64 GB. Future-proofing on a budget NAS feels amazing.
• HDMI + hardware transcoding: Hook it straight to your TV and use it as a media player if you want. Works perfectly.

Cons Of UGREEN NASync DXP2800

• Only two bays: If you need more than ~40 TB usable in RAID 1, you’ll outgrow it fast. No expansion unit available yet.
• UGOS is still catching up: Some advanced features like Active Directory integration and full Surveillance Station equivalent are missing or basic compared to DSM.
• No ECC memory support: For most home users it’s fine, but if you’re paranoid about bit flips, this isn’t your box.
• Single power supply: No redundancy**: If the brick dies (rare), you’re down until the replacement arrives.
• App ecosystem smaller: Fewer third-party apps than Synology or TrueNAS right now. Most popular ones are there, but niche stuff might require Docker knowledge.
• Documentation can be thin: English manuals sometimes feel translated. You’ll end up on Reddit or the UGREEN forum for advanced setups.
• No native SHR or Btrfs snapshots at launch: They added Btrfs later, but still no hybrid RAID like Synology’s SHR.

Maintenance Tips For UGREEN NASync DXP2800

• Keep UGOS updated religiously: New firmware fixes bugs and adds features. I check every two weeks.
• Use NVMe caching properly: Install a 500 GB–1 TB NVMe for read/write cache. My random IOPS went from 800 to over 9000 after adding a SN770.
• Set fan curve in BIOS: Default is quiet but conservative. I dropped max drive temps 4 °C by letting fans hit 60 % at 45 °C.
• Enable email + push notifications: UGOS can alert you for drive errors, updates, or temperature spikes. Takes 3 minutes to set up.
• Run monthly S.M.A.R.T extended tests: Don’t wait for a drive to fail. Schedule them in Storage Manager.
• Dust it every 3–4 months: The front filter pulls out easily. Five minutes with compressed air keeps temps perfect.
• Use quality power supply only: I swapped the stock 90 W brick for a 120 W one. Gives headroom if you add PCIe cards.
• Backup the backup: I still keep a cold copy on an external drive in a safe. NAS failure happens to everyone eventually.
• Monitor memory usage: Docker containers love to eat RAM. I upgraded to 32 GB because Immich + Frigate was pushing 90 % on 8 GB.

Comparison with Other Brands

Versus Synology DS224+

The DS224+ costs almost twice as much and still runs on a 10-year-old Celeron J4125. You get Btrfs and SHR, but real-world performance is half the DXP2800. If you don’t need Synology’s mature ecosystem, UGREEN wins easily on speed and price.

Versus QNAP TS-264-8G

QNAP is closer in specs with its N5095 CPU, but you pay $550+ and still only get 2.5GbE built-in (no free PCIe slot). QTS also feels bloated compared to the clean UGOS Pro interface. UGREEN feels snappier day-to-day.

Versus Asustor AS5402T

Asustor has four bays and 2.5GbE, but again you’re spending $450+ for a slightly older Celeron. HDMI output is only 1.4 vs UGREEN’s 2.0, so 4K 60 Hz HDR won’t work direct to TV. Build quality feels cheaper too.

Versus TerraMaster F2-424

Closest competitor on paper. Same N100 CPU, but TerraMaster’s TOS software is years behind. Updates are rare, and the community is tiny. I’d rather pay $20 more for UGREEN’s active development.

Versus DIY TrueNAS build

You can build something similar for maybe $100 less, but then you lose the polished case, warranty, and UGOS updates. For non-technical users, the DXP2800 is way less headache.

Versus UnRAID on custom hardware

UnRAID gives ultimate flexibility, but you need to source parts, deal with power efficiency, and manage everything yourself. The DXP2800 just works out of the box.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

Four months and thousands of hours later, I can say without hesitation: yes, the UGREEN NASync DXP2800 is absolutely worth it in 2025. You get 85 % of a high-end Synology experience at 45 % of the price, with better raw performance and active development. If you need 2-bay (or 2-bay + NVMe speed), just buy it. You won’t regret it. I sure don’t.