Synology vs UGREEN - Who makes the BEST NAS??

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0:00 Intro
1:25 Hardware - Synology vs UGREEN
6:05 Software - Synology vs UGREEN
14:53 Pricing - Synology vs UGREEN
17:40 And the winner is...
18:23 My overall thoughts

[ExpressITTechTips]

DSM is very refined and well produced but the fact with the Ugreen ones after their initial wobble on the topic, you can totally run your own OS and they will honor the warranty on the basis of it not being caused by the OS does make it a very attractive option

[magicmanchloe]

8:00 so fun fact, every synology nas comes with 2 to 4 surveillance station license built-in. If you are using more than 4 cameras yes you need to purchase additional licenses but those are also one time purchases and can be freely transferred from camera to camera.

[KarlRock]

17:40 Gotta agree on your conclusion. I’m a compsci grad so I could build and run my own, but what’s the point if a good solution is available that saves me time so I can focus on my core business.

[UnwalledGarden]

The best NAS is the one I can actually get. UGreen might be cheaper, but I can’t order one.

[wagnonforcolorado]

Glad that you ID'd a reality in the NAS world, NAS units are increasingly multi-function devices. I am hoping Synology and QNAP up their hardware game in response.

[MagDag_]

Buying Ugreen and installing TrueNas or other stable system.

[TechOverwrite]

Awesome video - when I saw the title I was like "uh gosh, not another sponsored UGREEN NAS video" 😂 But thankfully my cynical POV was wrong - this sums things up really well IMO.

[brianjones]

I got the Ugreen Nas 8800 for $900 so I’m very happy with it so far. Yes the software is no where near synology but I. Believe in the next year they will be right up there. I am using it for a media server so with basic storage and making a backup of drives off site. It will do well. Many people are complaining about the software and issues but as I been finding out it’s more user error. Still trying to get plex running and I am getting closer it’s always been my lack of knowledge on a Nas server. This is my first.

[KZA]

I got my UGREEN NAS 10 days ago and I feel exactly the same. I have the 4 bay Plus model and hardware wise it's a dime. But the software…uff. I love the look and general design of the UI. That's top notch, but feature wise and stability wise it's still a long way from perfect. I guess that's what the 40% Kickstarter discount was for and it should be fully usable by the end of the year (I'm getting updates almost every day so it seems like that should be the case).
Because I only dabble in tech and building pc's and don't really know how to code, use the console or linux in general, I have to stick with what the OS offers me. And I hope they'll add most of the features that I want

[Gilbert]

I've been using Synology for 10 years and initially loved their NAS systems. However, I'm now really frustrated with their recent changes. When I upgrade my hardware, I'm planning to switch to TrueNAS or maybe QNAP.

Synology removed SMART monitoring, and you get errors if you’re not using Synology's own RAM or HDDs. Additionally, Active Backup for Business (ABB) isn’t compatible with the latest Linux Kernel. Also they removed NFS4.1 in some of their Systems with a software update. Their rackmount lineup is also problematic for small setups, as you can't add an M.2 cache and end up wasting two HDD slots for SSD caching. Plus, if you need more than 8 slots, it becomes quite expensive.

Synology needs to lift these restrictions or at least provide an option to dismiss the warnings and acknowledge that they won't support systems using non-Synology hardware. On the hardware side, they should include M.2 and 10GbE support in their rackmount NAS, and introduce affordable 12-bay or 16-bay models.

If you want a system that just works without needing to tinker or worry about it, Synology is a great choice.

[vidx]

Ordered the Ugreen DXP8800 Pro with the i7 from China which is not available for backing in the kickstarter campaign. Excluding shipping, it costs 6599 Chinese Yuan which is around $910+. This is value considering I could install Truenas or Unraid onto it. Not to mention it supports up to 64GB DDR5 ram, two NVME slots, native 10Gbe, and Thunderbolt 4.0, on top of the 8-bay slots. It is as close as it gets to be a complete all-in-one NAS solution.

I do get that Synology DSM is extremely easy to set up for those not savvy to install another OS but for homelabbers, the Ugreen cannot be beat with that hardware.

[Yazeed]

There's also the point of software improvements over time. Ugreen software improved so much in the past year like you said, so what's it going to look next year? They already added a lot in the 3 months since the posting of this video.

[cmwdhkp]

I run an older Synology NAS and it has been rock solid.

My one issue is that there are a lot of work arounds to get things like Jellyfin working with transcoding and Sonarr etc.

That said, I think I’m better off using the Syn as a storage and getting one of those mini HP computers to run dockers and do transcoding.

[craigbell]

I've been dealing with Synology for a bunch of years. I do like their software (DSM). I don't like the hardware failures I've seen and the difficulty getting replacement parts (power supplies and such). You did not talk about warranties? I do not know anything about UGREEN. Do they have serviceable hardware (such as replacing failed power supplies)?
Very good and informative video overall! I appreciate you!

[Zedris]

I would recommend build your own however i have 2synology 8bays as my main nas and another as a backup to it across the world. They will last me a decade yes and they wont require maintenance etc but when they do fail im building my own. Synology has a place and for the convenience its worth the money. Here is hopping ugreen improves in the gen2.

[deechvogt]

Colton vs Wolfgang please, please, please!!

[DerUser]

Ordered via Kickstarter a DXP8800 Plus with 2x 10Gb network card and will run TrueNAS Scale on it - pricewise unbeatable.
I suppose that UGREEN will not hold its $1, 500 price tag for the device over time as the software is still kind of beta compared to Synology.
In the end UGREEN offers a super attractive hardware that can be tailored to everbody's needs - willingness and knowledge regarding mods required.

[MiddleofKnowhere]

Great video comparison.

I also believe in the software experience making up for lackluster hardware. I've been hoping Synology would be updating this year but nothing yet. For the longest time, I was eyeing the 5 bay solution, which is upgradeable for RAM, Network etc.; however, that made the device quite expensive. With the UGreen, I got the 4-bay Plus version earlier bird (so saved around 30%), bought 2, 2TB nvme's on sale during Prime Days, and will upgrade the RAM and then buy the 12 or 16 TB drives in a bit. I've also been holding off on tinkering with it for the software to improve. I mostly want a NAS for back-up for my YT videos, music, etc, and the UGreen KS offered a decent price alternative to Synology. Hopefully I won't regret my choice. :)

[tlls]

.... i get your point, but when you get the uGreen and install unRAID then it transforms waaaay better than any synology :D

[basdfgwe]

After being frustrated with synology for years, i ended up buildig my own. I cant believe i have never done that before... The best decision i have made instead of upgrading my synology nass