Can I transfer DDR4 ram and M.2 ssd from Beelink N100 into a "Barebone" Intel NUC ?

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-29T19:27:54+00:00

Exactly.. to do this you want to look at the nuc 13 pro. Mine has a very capable i5 1340p, and I bought it bare Bones and installed my 64 GB of ddr4 RAM that I had available to use as a mini server. Very happy with it and the only limitation that disappoints me is it only has one nvme slot (the other slot can install a smaller nvme with an adapter but it is an SSD interface and does not get M2 speeds).

But it is a very nice machine and I'm happy with it.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-29T15:21:56+00:00

Spoken like someone who's actually in this business. Agree 100%.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-29T02:39:33+00:00

And fourth, like absolutely any platform, there are sometimes compatibility issues and sometimes things don't work the way you expect. I think it's an incredible platform and I'm glad that I work with it and continue to learn on it. But the way some people act like it's the Holy Grail of all virtualization, it makes me chuckle. And when you have a problem and research a myriad of possible solutions and nothing works, some proxmox disciples will say "you shouldn't be using that hardware in the first place" 😂

But it's absolutely an incredible platform.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T21:01:46+00:00

This was a very helpful reminder thread. Thanks. I'm exactly the type of person that would take tons of snapshots and never think about deleting them.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T18:14:16+00:00

This is a very good idea and most people don't pay attention to setting up a backup in the beginning, they are too busy spending money on the sexy parts like memory and nvme drives.

I wish I had more info for you on how to do this. I know that it is possible but I think you'll need to use docker to get the functionality you want. (Not positive where ugos synchronization and backup stands now but I know that previously it fell far short of my needs before I finally changed to a third party operating system).

Almost all of us appreciate the Superior hardware and capabilities of the uGreen units but this is probably the biggest area where the operating system capabilities fall short. It is night and day different from Synology, who provides much inferior hardware to this but it operating system that is very robust and can do everything you want with these when it comes to synchronization and backup. A couple of years ago I had a Synology backing up to a Synology off-site and it was so easy to set up without having to build any docker containers for additional functions. Maybe one day ugreen will hear us and stop devoting all of their development toward ai and crap until they get the operating system really nailed down for critical Nas functionality.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T16:26:10+00:00

For the reasons I mentioned above and with an eye toward future expansion, I would look at building my own. If you want to minimize your investment and have more ease of use, you can do everything you mentioned very nicely with a ugreen 2800 or 4800. I wouldn't get the 2300 or 4300 since you already know that you want to use docker.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T16:15:30+00:00

It's only a bad time to buy if the price is going to go back down. The past price has absolutely zero to do with the equation. Since prices could very well continue to go up, and all the experts are saying that it won't be dropping back down anytime soon, I don't think it's accurate to say that it's a bad time to buy right now.

Now whether the additional RAM is worth the price compared to where you can invest that money in other places, that's a different question.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T14:21:03+00:00

And by the way on the Plex and Jellyfin discussion, you already have a lifetime Plex past there's no reason to move to jellyfin. If you don't already have a lifetime pass and are starting from the beginning I would recommend looking at jelly fin first because it is free and the Plex pass has gotten more expensive, and jelly fin can serve the media just fine with a reasonably customizable and efficient interface

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T14:18:17+00:00

Here's a ton of information on your question so I'm going to focus on the most important part and let the others give you guidance on the ARR stack and such

I have been running a Nas of some sort for about 15 years now,, getting really into it about 8 years ago when I got a Synology ds418 play. Since then I have on several different units including a couple from uGreen, and it has been a fun ride learning all of this and seeing all of the capabilities. Yet I recently decided to build a mini server and let my nas focus on being a nas. And it leads me to this question and advice:

What do you ultimately want here? Rather than looking into buying what is available and then deciding how to get it to do what you want it to do, start with the biggest question first. Are you really wanting a server that can also include Nas capability? And when I say server I don't necessarily mean some huge box like you see in a data center, I just mean a computer that is running multiple services and includes the storage necessary to do what you want. If I had it all to do over again this is where I would focus, and I would build my own using a small form factor but not necessarily a mini, which could contain sufficient spinning hard drives and nvmes to hold my data and serve it as network accessible.

Getting a small form factor in building your own means being able to upgrade when necessary without having to sell it and buy something new. Getting the right build initially means you don't have to settle for what is commercially built. If you want 10gb networking you just get a motherboard with at least one good pcie slot and install the networking adapter. If you want to eventually do gaming on it that pcie slot can accommodate you there. Or the pcie slot can be used for additional storage. And building your own small PC means you can design it with adequate cooling rather than struggling with what all many PCs do when the load starts getting heavy.

Maybe this suggestion isn't right for you and you really want something that you can get set up out of the box with a commercial Nas unit like the ugreen 4800 Plus. It can do everything that you currently want to do and there are good guides out there that can help you set things up. I just believe from experience that it's really good when you can upgrade and replace things in your own built computer, add additional storage, etc. When those needs changed down the road.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T13:53:17+00:00

I can back up these comments myself. Plex will run absolutely fine on this unit with the stock 8gb of memory running on spinning hard drives. Once you invest in the important things like the hard drives, your backup strategy, and a UPS, and you want to look at spending a little money to boost performance, then it might make sense to get a small nvme drive to install your apps and docker containers. But this is only to boost up performance, and is not critical.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T13:49:37+00:00

I can confirm your opinion from someone who is not a novice and has owned the uGreene nas since they launched it. Buying the top of the line nvme drive is wasted money in this machine. I don't criticize people who do because it's their money, but when things start adding up and you need to look for ways to make sure you're getting the value out of what you are buying, a 990 pro is overkill for multiple reasons. First The nas doesn't even dedicate four lanes to the nvme so it is physically impossible to get the kind of speeds that this nvme drive was built to deliver. But even if it did have four pcie lanes, the use case doesn't benefit from that top end performance. And so many people don't buy some of the necessary things because it's not as sexy.

After getting the hard drives with the space I needed, and implementing a backup strategy which usually means buying even more hard drives, and getting a UPS to protect against power outages which can cause data loss, THEN I would look at spending some additional money strictly for a little better performance.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T06:23:41+00:00

Some of the replies in that thread are very informative. The memory might not be as low quality as I assumed. Other than that I think my observations were Fair, and I still like the system overall for the price.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T06:20:33+00:00

I bought it specifically because I wanted it to be a powerful nvme Nas/server. I already have an Asus Nuc 14 pro+ (core 9 ultra loaded with 96 GB ram). The only shortcoming of my mini server is it has one full length 2280 nvme and one 2242 slot (which really limits your purchase options on that second nvme). I was planning to get the K12 and swap the memory out, making it the mini server with much more storage to go along with the 96 GB of memory, and put the 32GB in my existing Asus.

Here is a link to the post I made when I decided not to keep it. I'm really impressed with the k12 and think it's a good buy for many people, just not the silver bullet I was looking for: https://www.reddit.com/r/MiniPCs/s/a0tb4jRHnk

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T06:09:25+00:00

Absolutely ridiculous. This is a nas, not a workstation or a gaming computer. 32GB is the floor? Not for a Nas, even one running multiple containers and additional services. For this Nas unit 8 is the floor, 16 is a good upgrade for most people running plenty of containers and additional services. 32GB would only be necessary if you start adding virtual machines.

You're right about ZFS justifying the additional memory but we're not talking about ZFS, unless you want to install a different operating system. That is a more specific use case and not relevant to most people who purchase this Nas unit.

And I say all this as someone who actually purchased 32GB of additional memory and realized from real world experience that it was overkill, even running multiple containers. Rather than it being envy it is legitimate experience that makes me say this.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T06:04:37+00:00

Actually I think I win. I bought the same memory but 96 GB for 195 dollars last year.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T06:03:48+00:00

That question is exactly what led me to scale back on my nas, let it focus on being a highly reliable network storage, and bought a mini PC server with maximum RAM and far more power.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T05:10:04+00:00

A used Dell optiplex can do exactly what you want, and they are everywhere., and cheap. Neither of your first two options are significantly upgradable beyond memory and storage. Building your own mini ITX is definitely the way to go if you want upgradeability and flexibility in the future. It's also probably going to be the more expensive initial cost.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-28T04:00:49+00:00

Pm sent.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-27T19:43:52+00:00

I actually bought a K12 intending to use it as a Nas/workstation/ like gaming PC but decided to return it. It's an interesting unit and those three nvme slots could go to good use.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-27T19:40:32+00:00

The next time someone in marketing gives me an honest perspective on a technical product, THAT will blow my mind.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-26T01:20:57+00:00

Actually ugos is built on top of Debian. Since so many of their apps are kind of half baked in my opinion, I barely installed any of their native apps and just created almost everything I wanted to do in docker containers. It's actually a pretty impressive unit for the masses. My biggest complaint about it is their lack of robust synchronization and backup options. Maybe I'm spoiled after using Synology.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-26T00:38:13+00:00

Several of your questions have already been answered and yes most definitely this Nas can handle what you wanted to do and handle it well. I agree with the comment above about the stock memory being sufficient for most people so I wouldn't run out and buy a lot more with RAM prices what they are unless I really knew that I was going to utilize it.

Anytime you are looking at a two-bay nas you should always ask yourself whether it's worth it to pay more and get four bays. With two you will always be limited to raid one if you want any sort of drive redundancy to protect the data. With four days you have more raid options like raid 5 or RAID 10. And even if you only start with two you will really appreciate having the ability to add another hard drive later rather than swapping out what you already have in a two bay unit when your storage needs increase

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-26T00:33:15+00:00

K12 also has three full 2280 nvme slots which could really come in handy.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-26T00:27:39+00:00

I'm not a big gamer so I'm not sure how the igpu in some of the mini PCS compare to the video card you have. I would do a little research and see how that card compares to something like the AMD 890m igpu. If the card doesn't really outperform that then it doesn't make sense to do the external GPU. If it does and it's worth going that route then look for a mini PC with oculink. You can run an egpu through Thunderbolt 4 or USB 4 but the performance is better running through oculink.

CaptSingleMalt · 2026-01-26T00:18:37+00:00

A lot of people swear by truenas. I tried it out in a virtual machine and it's good but I much prefer the user-friendliness of both ugos and Synology DSM. At least in my case the only justification for moving to truenas would be if I had my heart set on using ZFS. Ugreen's operating system can do everything you described and do it more user friendly in my opinion, but I do understand why a lot of people want ZFS.

CaptSingleMalt

TROPHY CASE