Best M.2 NVMe for the UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated The UGREEN NASync DXP6800 Pro has 2 M.2 slots. They are freely populated (2 × m.2 nvme; plus a pcie x4 slot and 2 × thunderbolt 4), so a Samsung 990 EVO, WD Red SN700 or Crucial P3 all work. Whether a cache pays off depends on the 2 × 10GbE (link-aggregable to 20 Gbit/s) link and on whether you re-read the same data — for a media library streamed once, it does not.
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M.2 NVMe for the DXP6800 Pro, live from Amazon.ca
What sets the DXP6800 Pro apart
The flagship: six bays, a laptop-class i5, two 10-gigabit ports. In this class RAID 6 beats RAID 5, because six large drives make the rebuild the real risk. Enterprise drives like Exos are defensible here if you accept the noise.
Cache or a fast pool on the DXP6800 Pro?
The DXP6800 Pro's 2 M.2 slots (2 × m.2 nvme; plus a pcie x4 slot and 2 × thunderbolt 4) can serve as a read cache or, depending on the OS, as their own fast storage pool. A cache only speeds up data you read more than once: on the DXP6800 Pro, a media library streamed through once gains nothing, while repeated project files, photo libraries or container images show the difference immediately. Weigh that against its 2 × 10GbE (link-aggregable to 20 Gbit/s) link, which is often the real limit.
Because the DXP6800 Pro takes any M.2 drive, a Samsung 990 EVO, WD Red SN700 or Crucial P3 all work; for a write cache or VM pool, pick one with a real TBW rating rather than a DRAM-less budget SSD, since a cache wears faster than normal use.
The UGREEN drive policy on the DXP6800 Pro
unrestrictedOpen. UGREEN mandates no drive brand. The compatibility list is a recommendation, not a lock.
The DXP6800 Pro at a glance
| Bays | 6 × 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch SATA |
|---|---|
| Maximum raw capacity | 208 TB 6 × 32 TB hard drives plus 2 × 8 TB NVMe, per the manufacturer |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1235U (10 cores, 12 threads) |
| Memory | 8 GB, DDR5 SO-DIMM 4800 (2 slots) 64 GB per the manufacturer |
| M.2 NVMe | 2 slots 2 × M.2 NVMe; plus a PCIe x4 slot and 2 × Thunderbolt 4 |
| Network | 2 × 10GbE (link-aggregable to 20 Gbit/s) |
| Operating system | UGOS Pro |
| RAID types | Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10 |
Keep calculating
To see how much capacity is left after parity, the DXP6800 Pro capacity calculator is preset to its 6 bays and RAID types. For the DXP6800 Pro, the wider basics of choosing a drive are in the buying guides, where we also explain why CMR rather than SMR is mandatory in any RAID array.
Frequently asked questions
How many M.2 slots does the DXP6800 Pro have?
2. 2 × M.2 NVMe; plus a PCIe x4 slot and 2 × Thunderbolt 4
Is an NVMe cache worth it in the DXP6800 Pro?
Only if you re-read the same data on the DXP6800 Pro: project files, photos, container images. A media library streamed once gains nothing, and with 2 × 10GbE (link-aggregable to 20 Gbit/s) the link is often the limit before the drive is.
Can I put third-party drives in the DXP6800 Pro?
Yes. UGREEN locks no drive brand on the DXP6800 Pro — its compatibility list is guidance, not a gate — so any CMR NAS drive works.
Devin Chua works out which drives, RAM and NVMe cache fit which NAS model at nasdrives.ca, and what the RAID choice means for usable capacity, checked against what is in stock on Amazon.ca.
Data checked by Owen Nakamura, Technical editor (data checking)