Video summary

Why I Walked Away From Synology After 15 Years!

Main summary

Key takeaways

Product Review

Key product(s) discussed

  • Synology NAS (mid/high models)
    • DS214play (2014)
    • DS920+ (2020)
    • DS1525+ (targeted upgrade)
  • Alternative chosen: UGREEN (UG) DXP 6800 Pro (referenced as “UG Green”)

The video is about why the creator stopped buying Synology and chose UGREEN instead, rather than a simple spec-sheet comparison.

Main reasons the creator walked away from Synology (pros/cons)

Synology strengths (why they stayed 15 years)

  • Software ecosystem
    • DSM is described as “excellent,” “polished,” and “smooth”
  • App ecosystem depth + integration
    • First-party and third-party apps are “second to none”
    • Apps feel tightly integrated and “cohesive” (compared to “Apple-like”)
  • Reliability / rock-solid reputation
    • The creator valued the premium partly for this

User experience sentiment: Synology is “turnkey,” easy, cohesive, and made prior higher costs feel justified.

Synology drawbacks (why it stopped making sense)

  • Poor value vs competitors (“Synology tax” growing over time)
  • Older-generation hardware in similarly priced units
    • The targeted DS1525+ uses a Ryzen V1500B but lacks hardware transcoding
    • It compares unfavorably to the creator’s older DS920+
      • Intel Celeron J4125 with hardware transcoding
  • Networking and expansion limitations / slower upgrades
    • DS1525+ has 2.5 GbE ports vs alternatives with 10 GbE
    • Expansion options and upgrade paths are described as more constrained/less flexible
  • Storage compatibility policy change (major pain point)
    • In April 2025, Synology added a policy for “2025 plus series” NAS:
      • Full features/official support only with Synology-branded or Synology-certified drives
    • Non-certified drives may still work but could lose key capabilities such as:
      • storage pool creation
      • drive health analysis
      • firmware upgrades
    • The creator says Synology later “walked back” the policy, but the damage was done and it was “disappointing”
  • Premium pricing for add-ons/features
    • Extra cost for upgrades like:
      • RAM
      • 10Gb expansion cards
      • NVMe support described as cache-only
      • and more

Why the creator chose UGREEN (UGREEN DXP 6800 Pro)

Hardware/features called out (high-level)

Compared against DS1525+, the UGREEN is presented as offering more capability and room to grow:

  • More bays
    • UGREEN: 6 labeled drive bays
    • Synology: 5 bays
    • “Labeled” matters because drive positions must match to avoid breaking the system
  • Faster networking
    • UGREEN: two 10 GbE ports
    • Synology: 2.5 GbE
  • More powerful CPU
    • UGREEN includes an Intel i5-1235U (as transcribed)
    • Claimed much better single-core and burst performance
    • Benchmark claim: i5 significantly outperforms Synology’s Ryzen in both single-threaded and overall compute, enabling more multitasking headroom
  • Hardware acceleration for media streaming
    • Described as “built-in”
  • NVMe capability beyond what Synology allows
    • Two NVMe slots
    • Can be used for caching or full SSD storage pools
    • Synology not supporting this as stated
  • Ability to run alternative OS via NVMe pools
    • Mentioned booting “Unraid” or “TrueNAS”-like options (as transcribed: “Unrade or Trunass”)
  • Much more I/O out of the box
    • 2× Thunderbolt 4
    • 2× USB 3.2 Gen 2
    • 2× additional USB 2.0
    • Video claims this is “more than twice” DS1525+ connectivity
    • Synology can add expansion via USB-C, but the creator frames UGREEN as offering better raw connectivity immediately

UGREEN software/ecosystem & onboarding experience (user experience)

  • UG’s app ecosystem is smaller than Synology’s, but “covers the essentials”
  • Essentials mentioned:
    • file sharing
    • snapshots
    • cloud sync
    • backups
    • synchronization
    • virtual machines
    • Docker containers
    • dedicated media streaming apps
  • Mobile app is a standout
    • Not just monitoring—acts like a full setup tool
    • Creator completed initial setup from a phone:
      • creating storage pools
      • configuring RAID
      • adding users
      • without opening a laptop

Broader comparisons mentioned (value/performance pattern)

The creator argues Synology increasingly lags competitors in value due to:

  • older CPUs
  • less RAM
  • slower networking
  • limited expandability
  • paid upgrades for capabilities competitors include or enable more freely

Example comparisons included

(As transcribed from the video; no formal rating score is given.)

  • Synology DS225+ (released around July 2025, US)
    • 2019 Celeron J4125
    • 2 GB DDR4
    • 1 GbE
    • price listed around $359 (Micro Center mentioned)
  • UGREEN “UG Green tube bay” DXP 2800 (available March 2025)
    • 2023 Intel N100
    • 8 GB DDR5
    • 2.5 GbE
    • price about $10 less at $349

Pros and cons (condensed)

Synology (DS1525+ / ecosystem)

Pros

  • Very polished DSM software
  • Cohesive, “turnkey” experience
  • Deep app ecosystem and integration
  • Long-term reliability reputation

Cons

  • CPU/features (e.g., DS1525+ no hardware transcoding) not aligned with what the creator wanted
  • Increasing “premium” without matching modern hardware
  • Expandability/connectivity framed as limited/paid
  • April 2025 drive compatibility policy causing concern about lock-in/feature limitations

UGREEN (DXP 6800 Pro)

Pros

  • Better hardware value at the price
  • More bays and faster 10GbE
  • Stronger CPU performance and multitasking headroom (claimed by benchmarks)
  • Hardware acceleration for media streaming
  • NVMe storage pools + flexibility (including booting alternative OS)
  • Much more I/O out of the box
  • Mobile setup experience praised as “super cool” and laptop-free

Cons

  • Smaller app store/ecosystem than Synology (missing “some” ease/polish)

Verdict / recommendation (based on the video)

  • The creator recommends UGREEN over Synology for users who prioritize hardware value, flexibility, expandability, and modern performance, especially in a home lab.
  • Synology is still preferred for users who want maximum software polish and turnkey cohesion and are willing to pay a premium.

Unique points explicitly mentioned (complete list, deduplicated)

  1. Synology is a long-time leader with excellent DSM and smooth interface.
  2. Creator’s Synology history: DS214play (2014) and DS920+ (2020).
  3. DS920+ drive space issue due to increased YouTube content.
  4. Need for more horsepower, faster networking, and robustness.
  5. Considered upgrading to DS1525+ (8GB RAM, Ryzen V1500B, 2× 2.5GbE).
  6. DS1525+ Ryzen lacks hardware transcoding; DS920+ had Intel Celeron J4125 with hardware transcoding.
  7. DS1525+ has 5 bays; UGREEN has 6.
  8. DS1525+ has a PCIe/network upgrade slot and costs about $912 (Micro Center mentioned).
  9. April 2025 Synology policy requiring Synology-certified drives for full features/support on “2025 plus series”.
  10. Policy could limit/no longer provide features like storage pool creation, drive health analysis, firmware upgrades.
  11. Policy later walked back, but damage done.
  12. Creator researched alternatives due to the compatibility-policy disappointment.
  13. UGREEN DXP 6800 Pro: 6 labeled bays.
  14. Concern about needing to replace drives in original positions.
  15. UGREEN has 2× 10GbE vs DS1525+ 2× 2.5GbE.
  16. UGREEN includes Intel i5-1235U with better single-core/burst performance.
  17. Built-in hardware acceleration for media streaming.
  18. Benchmark claim: i5 outperforms Synology Ryzen in single-thread and total compute.
  19. UGREEN includes 2 NVMe slots for caching or full SSD pools (Synology doesn’t, per creator).
  20. NVMe pools can be used to boot alternative OS (Unraid/TrueNAS mentioned).
  21. UGREEN includes 2× Thunderbolt 4 + 2× USB 3.2 Gen 2 + 2× USB 2.0.
  22. UGREEN offers more connectivity out of the box; Synology needs expansion via USB-C.
  23. Creator argues Synology’s value gap vs competitors is widening.
  24. Synology ships older-generation CPUs/RAM/networking and limited expandability at similar prices.
  25. Synology charges extra for upgrades (10Gb expansion cards, RAM upgrades, NVMe limited to cache).
  26. Drive compatibility restrictions amplify lock-in concerns.
  27. Creator is a “value proposition” person (sales background) and says cost no longer made sense.
  28. Synology’s core strength remains software ecosystem (Drive, Photos, Hyper Backup, Active Backup for Business, Synology Office, etc.).
  29. Synology apps are tightly integrated and cohesive.
  30. UGREEN ecosystem is smaller but covers essentials (file sharing, snapshots, cloud sync, backups, sync, VMs, Docker, media streaming, mobile app).
  31. Creator misses Synology’s easy, turnkey cohesion and lots of apps.
  32. UGREEN’s price/hardware is “no-brainer” for growth and value.
  33. UGREEN mobile app enables full initial setup (storage pools, RAID, users) from phone.
  34. Conclusion framing: Synology = Apple-like polish/guardrails; UGREEN = more open/flexible hardware room to grow.
  35. Overall recommendation: choose based on whether you value software polish (Synology) or flexibility/hardware headroom (UGREEN).

Speakers/views

  • Single main speaker: creator Mackie Tech
    • Provides the full decision narrative, comparisons, and personal experience.

Original video