UGREEN NASync DXP2800 2-Bay NAS
An Intel N100 2-bay NAS with 8GB DDR5 and 2.5GbE that finally gives Synology real competition under $400.
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What we like
- Intel N100 + 8GB DDR5 outclasses the DS224+ on raw horsepower
- 2.5GbE built in — no dongle, no upgrade tax
- Two M.2 NVMe slots for SSD caching or all-flash pools
- Time Machine works out of the box over SMB
Could be better
- UGOS is still maturing — fewer first-party apps than DSM
- Single 2.5GbE port, no link aggregation
- Plastic chassis feels cheaper than Synology's metal builds
Full Review
For years, asking “what NAS should I buy for my home office?” had one answer: Synology. The DXP2800 is the first unit I’d actually recommend over a DS224+ for most people, and the spec sheet is why. You get an Intel N100, 8GB of DDR5, 2.5GbE, and two NVMe slots for $399 — Synology charges roughly the same for a Realtek ARM chip, 2GB of soldered DDR4, and gigabit Ethernet.
Hardware That Embarrasses the Competition
The N100 is a real x86 CPU with quick-sync video, so Plex transcodes, Docker containers, and the occasional VM all run without complaint. Eight gigs of DDR5 means you can run Immich, Nextcloud, and Time Machine backups simultaneously without swapping. The 2.5GbE port pushes sustained 280 MB/s reads off a mirrored pair of WD Reds, which is enough to edit 4K ProRes proxies straight off the share if your Mac has a 2.5GbE adapter.
UGOS vs DSM — Closer Than You Think
UGOS Pro is the honest weak point, but it’s no longer embarrassing. The web UI is clean, snapshot-based backups work, Docker is first-class, and SMB/AFP/NFS all behave. What you don’t get yet is DSM’s depth — Synology Photos, Hyper Backup, and Active Backup for Business have no exact equivalents. UGREEN’s photo app is decent, the sync client is fine, and Docker Hub fills most of the remaining gaps.
Time Machine on a Mac
This is the question I get most. Yes, Time Machine works. You create a shared folder, enable Time Machine support in the SMB settings, set a quota, and macOS finds it as a destination. I’ve been running nightly backups of two MacBooks for six weeks with zero corruption events. It’s the same setup story as Synology, just in a different menu.
Total Cost vs Synology DS224+
Two 8TB WD Red Plus drives run about $360 right now, putting a fully loaded DXP2800 at roughly $760. The equivalent DS224+ build is closer to $730, but you’re getting a vastly slower CPU and half the RAM. Add a 2.5GbE USB adapter to the Synology and you’re at parity on price with worse hardware.
Who Should Buy This
Get the DXP2800 if you want serious hardware for media, Docker, and Mac backups, and you’re comfortable with software that’s 80% as polished as DSM. If you need rock-solid, set-and-forget backups for a small business and value Synology’s app ecosystem over raw specs, the DS224+ is still the safer pick — but the gap is closing fast.
