NASync DXP4800 GT Review: Ryzen R2514, 10 GbE, M.2/U.2 SSDs — Ugreen Delivers

If the form remains a rectangular prism and the black shell dominates the silhouette, Ugreen adds a few gold/amber accents for a nice touch. At the front of the NAS, on the drawers for storage drives, there are brown/amber numbers that highlight this aesthetic originality. It’s clean and a little different.

The power supply, however, is fairly bulky (16.5x7x3.3 cm for 490 g), which is because it delivers up to 150 watts. And speaking of weight, the NAS in running empty still weighs 3.8 kg on the scale: the unit is fairly dense due to its fully metal chassis.

If weight is a consideration, it also guarantees the robustness of a NAS built to last. It is, however, designed for modern connectivity with plentiful options, mostly concentrated at the rear. At the front, you still get two USB 3.2 Gen2 (one Type-C and one Type-A) in addition to an SD card reader and six status LEDs, one integrated into the power button.

On the software side, the accessibility is welcome, even if it is more pronounced on the smaller NAS models from the brand, with NASync DH2300 and NASync DH4300 at the forefront. We won’t delve into endless details here, but know that all the most classic options for managing users, groups, and shares are available. Note too that Ugreen has put substantial effort into making every option easily accessible, always presented clearly. It’s clear that Ugreen borrows heavily from its competitors, but for a good cause!

On the other hand, we noted in our tests of previous Ugreen NAS devices that the brand is still young and some “extra” features are missing. Indeed, the app portal is perhaps one of the poorest in the sector. At the time of writing, only 31 modules are available on the portal, and many tools are missing. That said, notable progress has already been made; for example, Jellyfin has entered the ecosystem.

We also lack some tools for collaboration: the online Office suite, for instance, is not yet at a level that could replace shared office tasks found in Google Docs or Nextcloud. However, virtual machines, home assistant, a security vault, a video surveillance center, and download management are part of the ecosystem. The Docker module remains available to provide complementary solutions, even though it might be a bit daunting for beginners. Of course, audio (Music), photo (Photos), and video (Theatre) modules exist to manage our files.

For testing a NAS, we always place it in a real-world scenario with our own model. With the NASync DXP4800 GT, this step goes through “like a letter to the post.” No issues to report, no malfunctions. That said, the 8 GB of RAM can be a bit light for heavy tasks. They seem somewhat out of step with the CPU power, as Ugreen likely had to balance RAM growth, but it remains upgradable. Fortunately.

Functionalities and software interface

The U.2 slot delivers better performance but comes at a higher price. Perhaps that’s why Ugreen only includes two of them. Remember that the brand relies on AMD with a Ryzen R2514 chip featuring 4 cores/8 threads. It runs at 2.1 GHz by default and can boost up to 3.7 GHz. It is endowed with an iGPU Radeon Vega 8 and can count on 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, expandable up to 64 GB.

This accessibility is welcome, though it is more pronounced on the brand’s smaller NAS models, with NASync DH2300 and NASync DH4300 at the forefront. We won’t dive into endless details here, but know that all the most classic options for user, group, and share management are available. Note as well that Ugreen has put significant effort into making all options easily accessible, always presented clearly. It’s clear that Ugreen borrows heavily from competitors, but for a good cause!

Sans entrer dans d’infinis détails, nous avons l’habitude de représenter cet usage quotidien par deux petites captures de la copie de fichiers via l’explorateur Windows 11 (en SMB) avec une grande archive de plusieurs dizaines de gigaoctets. En lecture depuis le NAS, nous sommes déçus par l’inconstance des résultats et la moyenne à « seulement » 666 Mo/s: regardez la courbe, le débit varie pas mal. En écriture, c’est étonnamment plus stable, mais la moyenne demeure légèrement décevante à 433 Mo/s. On n’atteint donc pas la saturation de l’interface 10 GbE.

Note that, as mentioned earlier, Ugreen allows, like all its NAS, link aggregation. It enables clustering of the two RJ45 connectors to nearly double the bandwidth. However, to take advantage of two 10 GbE ports, you will need a robust network!

Our measurements continue with checks on heating, noise levels, and power consumption. In terms of temperature, the peak observed was 58.8°C at the CPU. Not problematic, especially since the hard drives stay cooler, with a maximum of 42.4°C. The NAS cooling operates without excessive nuisance: 30.2 dB at idle and up to 39.1 dB when the single fan is maxed out. Finally, power consumption is somewhat high, but reasonable for a four-bay NAS this powerful: up to 76.4 watts. That said, it’s a bit puzzling why Ugreen ships a power block rated at 150 watts. At least, you’re covered.

To close, we repeat the RAID-5 rebuild endurance test with a three-bay NAS scenario: our volume consists of 100 GB spread across eight large files and 10 GB spread across more than 4,000 small files. Here, the Ryzen R2514 integration shines, and the NASync DXP4800 GT works wonders with just under seven minutes. It’s rarely performed this well.

UGREEN NASync DXP4800 GT, Clubic’s verdict

A modern, well-thought-out design

No matter what one may say, you don’t truly stand out from the competition with the look of a NAS. Nothing resembles a NAS more than another NAS. Yet, with the DXP4800 GT, as with prior forays into the market, Ugreen brings a refreshing twist.

The enclosure remains a rectangular box with a predominantly black finish, but Ugreen decorates it with subtle gold/amber accents that catch the eye. At the front, the storage drawer faces feature amber-brown numerals that accentuate this aesthetic touch. It’s clean and it stands out a bit.