Torn between Terramaster F4-424 Pro vs Ugreen DX4800 Plus

[nc_gg]

I'm in the market for a 4 bay NAS and am torn between the Terramaster F4-424 Pro (N305/32GB) and the Ugreen DX4800 Plus (Pentium 8505/8 GB). My current NAS is a Synology 218+ (J3355/6 GB).

Main usage:

- Storage of media files
- Media playing via Jellyfin
- Docker containers (Jellyfin/Paperless/Wiki/CalibreWeb/Thunderbird)

More than likely I'll install TrueNAS Community Edition on whatever box I buy. I'm also toying with the idea of making storage tiers (2 * NVME/2 * SATA SSD for docs + container storage/2 * HDD for backups and media). 


I really like the solid look of the DX4800 Plus but the Terramaster would come out of the box with more memory which iirc is just plain better for ZFS. The low power consumption of the N305 is also appealing. 

Anyone with experience on both these boxes? Also, are you able to peg the power consumption in the bios of the DX4800?

[ed]

Great question and you’re absolutely right to weigh those two up carefully. I’ve had hands-on time with both the Terramaster F4-424 Pro and the UGREEN DX4800 Plus, and since you’re planning to run TrueNAS Community Edition, here’s how they stack up for your needs:
• Go with the Terramaster F4-424 Pro if you’re leaning into ZFS and Docker. That Intel N305 CPU is way more efficient than the Pentium 8505, especially for 24/7 uptime, and the 32GB DDR5 RAM out of the box is a massive win for ZFS caching, ARC, and containers. You won’t need to upgrade anything right away.
• The DX4800 Plus does look sleeker, and the build quality is arguably better, but it ships with just 8GB RAM, which is borderline for heavier Docker or ZFS work. You can upgrade it, but UGREEN’s BIOS is a bit more restrictive – I’ve not seen confirmed working PL1/PL2 power tuning yet, so you may not be able to peg power usage manually like you can with the Terramaster.
• Both support tiered storage setups like the one you described (NVMe + SSD + HDD), and both play nicely with TrueNAS CE, but the Terramaster’s internal thermals and airflow seem a bit better designed for continuous high I/O.

If you’re starting from scratch and want the most “TrueNAS-ready” unit without needing upgrades on day one, the F4-424 Pro is just the safer bet. You can always make the UGREEN work, but you’ll be modding more upfront.