UGREEN DH4300 PLUS NAS Review

The UGREEN DH4300 PLUS NAS Review – Good Value?

The UGREEN DH3400 Plus is a 4-bay NAS solution introduced quietly into the company’s growing lineup of storage devices, appearing online without the usual fanfare. Closely related to the DH4300 Plus in both hardware and feature set, this model forms part of UGREEN’s value-tier NAS systems, designed to provide essential private cloud functionality at a lower cost. Targeted at home users, prosumers, and small offices, the DH3400 Plus offers a mix of modern storage capacity and lightweight computing through its ARM-based architecture. With support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10, 2.5GbE networking, and up to 120TB of raw storage across four SATA bays, the device aims to provide a reasonably capable platform for tasks like file serving, multimedia streaming, and basic photo management.

However, the DH3400 Plus doesn’t just follow the pattern of other budget NAS solutions. It includes features uncommon at this price point, such as HDMI output and 10Gbps USB connectivity, which extend its use case beyond simple backups into media and even light-duty AI-powered photo organization. Its system-on-chip, the Rockchip RK3588, is more powerful than the processors seen in comparable entry-level NAS systems from other brands like Synology or QNAP. While it lacks the high-end features of premium NAS units—such as multi-port networking or M.2 expansion—it still manages to deliver a compact, energy-efficient package suited to most daily NAS workloads. This review breaks down each component of the DH3400 Plus, from its physical design and internal hardware to its software ecosystem, to help users decide whether this is the right solution for their needs.

UGREEN DH4300 NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

The UGREEN DH3400 Plus stands out as a well-equipped entry-level NAS that offers considerably more than its modest price tag suggests, positioning itself as a serious contender in the growing value NAS market. Powered by the RK3588 ARM processor and backed by 8GB of LPDDR4X memory, it delivers capable performance for a wide range of NAS tasks including file sharing, media streaming, light containerization via Docker, and AI-assisted photo management. Its support for 2.5GbE networking, 10Gbps USB ports, and HDMI 2.1 output adds versatility, enabling faster-than-Gigabit transfer speeds and options for direct media playback or on-site display access. The system’s low power consumption, compact footprint, and quiet operation make it especially well-suited for 24/7 deployment in home or small office environments. AI functionality for face recognition and album generation, powered by the on-chip NPU, further enhances its value for users managing large personal photo or media libraries. However, the device is limited by its lack of PCIe or M.2 expansion, absence of link aggregation or redundant LAN, and the relatively immature UGOS Pro software, which trails behind DSM and QTS in terms of advanced features, third-party app support, and overall refinement. Still, for users seeking a reliable, efficient, and feature-packed NAS at a competitive price, the DH3400 Plus represents a compelling option that punches well above its weight—offering core functionality, multimedia capabilities, and surprising hardware strength without venturing into high-end NAS pricing territory.

SOFTWARE - 6/10

HARDWARE - 7/10

PERFORMANCE - 6/10

PRICE - 9/10

VALUE - 10/10

7.6

PROS

👍🏻Powerful ARM CPU: Equipped with the RK3588 SoC, offering 8 cores, integrated GPU, and NPU for AI workloads.
👍🏻Generous (but fixed!) Memory: 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, rare in budget NAS systems, supports multitasking and Docker use.
👍🏻2.5GbE Network Port: Provides faster-than-Gigabit throughput for backups, media streaming, and multi-user access.
👍🏻HDMI 2.1 Output: Rare on ARM powered turnkey NAS, and enables direct media playback or NAS control at up to 4K 60Hz, uncommon in value-tier NAS units.
👍🏻USB 10Gbps Ports: Dual USB-A 10Gbps and one USB-C 5Gbps allow for high-speed backups or external storage expansion.
👍🏻AI Photo Management: Built-in NPU supports facial recognition and scene detection for local, private media organization.
👍🏻Low Power Consumption: Efficient under load (~30W) and idle (~5W without drives), suitable for 24/7 operation.

CONS

👎🏻No PCIe or M.2 Expansion: Lacks future scalability for NVMe caching, 10GbE, or other upgrades.
👎🏻Single LAN Port: Only one 2.5GbE port, with no failover or link aggregation support.
👎🏻Limited Software Ecosystem: UGOS Pro lacks iSCSI, VM support, and native Jellyfin, trailing behind DSM/QTS in maturity.

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UGREEN DH4300 NAS Review – Design and Storage

The UGREEN DH3400 Plus adopts a minimalist, vertical chassis design that blends functional cooling with a relatively compact footprint. Measuring 155mm x 155mm x 215.7mm, the enclosure is tall and narrow, allowing it to accommodate four internal 3.5″ or 2.5″ SATA drives without consuming significant desk space. Instead of traditional hot-swappable trays, UGREEN uses a toolless drive insertion mechanism where each drive slides vertically into the chassis.

This approach reduces complexity and keeps production costs lower but introduces compromises in terms of drive handling and vibration isolation. The top panel is removable and held magnetically, granting access to the internal drive bays and initial setup QR code sticker located inside the lid. Ventilation is handled by side vents, perforations at the top of the cover, and a single downward-facing internal fan near the system board.

Drive installation is simple but not entirely refined. Each of the four bays inside feeds directly into a fixed SATA backplane. Drives are inserted vertically without caddies and seat against rubber bumpers at the rear, which help reduce some of the mechanical vibration but do not provide the same structural integrity or thermal separation found in more traditional hot swap and more easily accessible tray-based designs.

The plastic inner rails feel light and somewhat fragile, especially when compared to metal-based bays found in more premium NAS models. Still, the internal structure was found to be sufficient during testing, even when populating the system with higher-capacity drives. The unit officially supports up to 4 x 30TB drives, allowing a total storage capacity of 120TB in JBOD or RAID configurations, though users will need to supply their own disks as none are included in the package.

Airflow and thermal behavior of the DH3400 Plus are managed via passive intake vents and a single active cooling fan positioned on the base of the chassis. This fan draws air from the top and sides of the NAS, passing it over the CPU and power delivery components before exhausting out the bottom. While this layout is thermally efficient for a low-power device like this, it lacks redundancy and doesn’t allow for custom fan curve profiles within UGOS Pro.

During 24-hour tests with four IronWolf drives installed, drive temperatures remained between 44°C and 45°C, while the system chassis and CPU areas stayed in the range of 38°C to 42°C under typical workloads. Though these temperatures are within operational thresholds, users deploying the NAS in warmer environments or fully populating it with high-RPM drives may need to consider ambient airflow or active external cooling assistance.

The DH3400 Plus is constructed from a mix of metal and plastic materials, with a soft matte finish and minimal front I/O clutter. This helps the device appear more neutral in office or home setups. All primary status LEDs are located subtly on the front edge, along with a power button and high-speed USB-C port. Despite its budget positioning, UGREEN has maintained an external aesthetic that doesn’t look out of place beside other premium tech. However, internal cost-saving decisions are more evident. The lack of a proper drive locking mechanism or hotswap support reinforces that this NAS is not meant for heavy-duty enterprise usage or high-frequency drive replacement tasks. It is more appropriate as a near-permanent local storage solution once disks have been installed and configured.

In terms of storage functionality, the DH3400 Plus supports multiple RAID modes, including Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10. This flexibility is notable, as several competing ARM-based NAS units limit RAID options—particularly RAID 6, which requires higher CPU and memory resources to compute parity. While software RAID performance will depend heavily on the chosen configuration and disk types, the Rockchip RK3588 SoC proved capable of maintaining consistent performance in RAID 5 across moderate workloads, including file copying, media playback, and snapshot operations. UGREEN’s system also offers automatic drive recognition and formatting through the UGOS Pro interface, allowing less experienced users to get started quickly, though without the advanced data scrubbing and repair features available on some higher-end NAS platforms.

UGREEN DH4300 NAS Review – Internal Hardware

At the heart of the DH3400 Plus lies the Rockchip RK3588 processor, an 8-core ARM-based SoC featuring a hybrid core architecture. It combines four high-performance Cortex-A76 cores with four efficiency-oriented Cortex-A55 cores, providing a significant performance uplift over most ARM-based NAS processors in the same price bracket. The RK3588 includes a Mali-G610 GPU and an integrated NPU capable of delivering up to 6 TOPS of AI performance. This allows for features like facial recognition, object tagging, and scene categorization within UGOS Pro. Notably, this chip has seen growing popularity in DIY NAS and edge computing applications due to its multimedia capabilities and low power draw. Its inclusion in a turnkey NAS platform at this price point positions the DH3400 Plus as an outlier among typical value-series offerings.

Complementing the processor is 8GB of LPDDR4X memory, which is soldered to the board and not user-upgradable. While this limits long-term scalability, 8GB is a generous amount for an ARM-based NAS and sufficient for most general-purpose NAS workloads including file sharing, media serving, AI-assisted photo sorting, and light Docker container deployment. The system also features a 32GB eMMC module, serving as a dedicated system drive for UGOS Pro. This separation of the OS from user storage pools ensures stability during boot and updates while also freeing up the full capacity of installed SATA drives for data. The lack of NVMe or SATA DOM options means the eMMC is fixed, but in practice, it performed reliably during testing without any bottlenecks.

From a thermal and power standpoint, the RK3588 platform proves to be highly efficient. Even under moderate to heavy loads—such as simultaneous file transfers, streaming tasks, and indexing—the SoC maintains stable temperatures in the low 40s Celsius range. Combined with a modest power draw of around 30–35 watts under active use (and ~4.7 watts at idle without drives), the DH3400 Plus is suitable for continuous 24/7 operation in home or office environments. While the lack of ECC memory or redundant power limits its appeal for enterprise deployment, the core hardware is well-balanced for its target audience, especially when considering how much performance and functionality is packed into a device with a sub-$400 price point.

UGREEN DH4300 NAS Review – Ports and Connections

The UGREEN DH3400 Plus offers a streamlined but functionally adequate set of connectivity options for a value-focused NAS. On the front of the device, users will find a USB-C port rated at 5Gbps, accompanied by two additional USB-A ports on the rear capable of 10Gbps transfer speeds. These high-speed USB ports are somewhat unusual on an ARM-based NAS and allow for faster direct-attached storage backups or peripheral integration, including UPS management or external media access. While not hot-swappable in the OS UI, the ports performed reliably in tests when mounting USB SSDs and thumb drives for quick file transfer and offline sync. Their positioning also maintains a tidy cable layout, with most high-traffic connections located on the back panel.

Network connectivity is delivered through a single 2.5GbE RJ45 port, which represents a solid step above the standard 1GbE ports found on most entry-level NAS units. This allows the DH3400 Plus to exceed typical Gigabit transfer speeds, reaching up to ~280MB/s in peak file transfer tests using large sequential data. However, the inclusion of only one LAN port means there’s no support for link aggregation or failover. This limits the device’s flexibility in multi-user environments or scenarios requiring redundancy. Given the hardware capabilities of the RK3588 platform, a second LAN port—or even a fallback 1GbE—would have been ideal. Still, for a single-user or small team deployment, the 2.5GbE connection is more than sufficient for everyday access to large media files, backups, and collaborative workspaces.

One of the most unexpected and welcome features is the presence of an HDMI 2.1 output, capable of 4K at 60Hz. HDMI on value-tier NAS systems is uncommon, and its inclusion here enables media playback, real-time NAS control via a directly connected monitor, and potential kiosk or signage applications. The UGOS Pro operating system includes a built-in theater mode to pair with this feature, although its capabilities are more basic than those found in platforms like QNAP’s HD Station. Nevertheless, for users wanting to leverage the NAS as a lightweight local media center or for on-site admin access without relying solely on browser-based control, the HDMI output adds flexibility. The only caveat is that the device lacks any form of PCIe expansion, so users cannot add additional ports or NVMe caching options later.

UGREEN DH4300 NAS Review – Software and Services

The DH3400 Plus runs UGOS Pro, UGREEN’s proprietary NAS operating system tailored for ARM-based platforms. While it doesn’t match the feature depth of more mature systems like Synology DSM or QNAP QTS, UGOS Pro has seen steady improvements and now covers most of the foundational functions expected from a modern NAS. The UI is browser-accessible and includes modules for storage management, user permissions, cloud sync, backups, and multimedia playback. During testing, the OS handled basic setup, RAID initialization, and file system formatting efficiently. Users can configure shared folders, enable SMB/NFS/AFP protocols, and even set up multi-tiered backup routines to local, USB, or cloud destinations such as Google Drive and Dropbox.

One of the more advanced features is the integrated AI photo engine, which leverages the RK3588’s NPU to organize media libraries using facial recognition, object tagging, and scene classification. This is similar in principle to what Synology Photos or QNAP QuMagie offer, though UGOS Pro lacks the same level of customization or filtering depth. The system can automatically generate albums, identify duplicates, and even create baby-focused timelines.

These features worked reliably on smaller photo sets but began to slow down when indexing larger libraries—likely a result of both memory and algorithmic efficiency. Despite this, the inclusion of AI functionality in a sub-$400 NAS is notable, especially since it runs locally and does not require cloud processing.

Application support is growing within UGOS Pro. Native apps for file access, media playback, surveillance (limited), and mobile sync are included, along with support for Docker containers, allowing users to sideload additional tools not officially available. Notably, BTRFS is supported as a file system option, enabling snapshot functionality and some degree of data integrity checks. However, there are limitations: virtualization is not supported due to the ARM architecture, and there’s currently no iSCSI target support.

Additionally, while the broader UGREEN ecosystem includes a Jellyfin app for other devices, this model did not have native Jellyfin support at launch—requiring users to deploy it manually via Docker. Features like multi-factor authentication, scheduled shutdown/start, and remote access are included, but power users may find the interface lacking compared to more polished systems.

The UGREEN DH4300 Plus delivers respectable media performance when running Jellyfin, particularly with 1080p and 4K content. During testing, the system handled native playback of 4K files smoothly and managed light transcoding tasks without excessive CPU strain, thanks to the efficiency of the RK3588’s integrated GPU and NPU. Native playback of 8K media was technically possible, but pushed the CPU usage to 70–75%, and any attempt at transcoding 8K content resulted in the processor maxing out at 100%, making it unsuitable for high-resolution real-time conversion.

While the NAS can serve 8K files over the network for compatible client playback, its ARM-based architecture lacks the raw transcoding power and hardware acceleration frameworks seen in x86-based systems with Intel Quick Sync. For most users, 1080p and 4K Jellyfin playback—both native and lightly transcoded—is handled reliably, but 8K should be considered the upper limit of what the DH4300 can manage, and only under specific playback conditions without conversion.

UGREEN DH4300 NAS Review – Verdict and Conclusion

The UGREEN DH3400 Plus carves out a unique niche in the budget NAS landscape by delivering hardware typically reserved for higher-tier systems at a much lower price point. Its RK3588 processor, 8GB of RAM, and support for 2.5GbE networking place it well ahead of most similarly priced competitors in terms of raw specifications. Additionally, features such as HDMI output, 10Gbps USB ports, and local AI-powered photo indexing are rare to find in entry-level NAS systems. Despite its plastic-heavy internal design and lack of expansion options like PCIe or M.2, the device delivers stable performance for file sharing, media access, and low-intensity AI workloads. It is not suited for power users demanding virtual machines or advanced snapshot automation, but within its class, the DH3400 Plus presents an appealing balance between cost and capability.

That said, the software experience is still a work in progress. UGOS Pro covers the essentials and offers a visually accessible UI, but lacks the advanced features and ecosystem integration found in more mature platforms like Synology DSM or QNAP QTS. Docker and snapshot support add welcome flexibility, but the absence of native Jellyfin, iSCSI, and VM functionality limits its use in more complex environments. Still, for home users, media collectors, or small office setups looking for reliable backup, modest AI-enhanced photo sorting, and smooth 4K playback, the DH3400 Plus delivers value well beyond its price tag. While it won’t replace high-end NAS appliances, it serves as a capable, efficient, and quietly innovative option in a saturated entry-level NAS market.

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PROs of the UGREEN DH4300 NAS

CONs of the UGREEN DH4300 NAS

Powerful ARM CPU: Equipped with the RK3588 SoC, offering 8 cores, integrated GPU, and NPU for AI workloads. Generous (but fixed!) Memory: 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, rare in budget NAS systems, supports multitasking and Docker use. 2.5GbE Network Port: Provides faster-than-Gigabit throughput for backups, media streaming, and multi-user access. HDMI 2.1 Output: Rare on ARM powered turnkey NAS, and enables direct media playback or NAS control at up to 4K 60Hz, uncommon in value-tier NAS units. USB 10Gbps Ports: Dual USB-A 10Gbps and one USB-C 5Gbps allow for high-speed backups or external storage expansion. AI Photo Management: Built-in NPU supports facial recognition and scene detection for local, private media organization. Low Power Consumption: Efficient under load (~30W) and idle (~5W without drives), suitable for 24/7 operation.

No PCIe or M.2 Expansion: Lacks future scalability for NVMe caching, 10GbE, or other upgrades. Single LAN Port: Only one 2.5GbE port, with no failover or link aggregation support. Limited Software Ecosystem: UGOS Pro lacks iSCSI, VM support, and native Jellyfin, trailing behind DSM/QTS in maturity.

 

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