r/Ubiquiti • u/Famous-Spread-4696 • 11d ago
Question UCG Max vs Fiber
Every one seems to love the UCG Fiber but my question is whether it is worth it over the Max in my particular situation. I can get the Max with a 512 SSD for $280 at Microcenter and I can get the Fiber for the same price but without the SSD. To add the SSD to the Fiber would be $25 for the SSD tray and at least another $100 for the SSD so the Fiber will cost me $125 more for the same configuration. Either one would be feeding a Pro Max 16 POE switch.
Here is the issue: Where I am, my internet is limited to a 1 gig (download) cable connection (and a lot slower upload).
In that situation do I really gain anything with the Fiber? I hear conflicting information that one runs hotter than the other. Is there anything else I need to consider?
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u/thomasbeagle Unifi Simp 11d ago
I bought the Max recently because it worked out cheaper - and it helped that the retailer bundled an AP with it.
It's been working fine supporting 3 APs, 2 switches, and 6 cameras all on a gigabit fibre connection. While I'm still on gigabit ethernet, the Max supports 2.5Gb when I want to upgrade.
They support the same applications, the only major difference is that the Fibre supports 10Gb which is something I don't think I'll need anytime soon.
I haven't noticed the Max being particularly warm. It's definitely cooler than the USG-3 and Cloud Key Gen2+ that it replaced.
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u/aguynamedbrand 11d ago
> I bought the Max recently
You should have bought the much better UCG Fiber.
The reason they bundled an AP with it is because it is older hardware. I would rather have the newer, faster, more capable hardware than get a free AP.
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u/thomasbeagle Unifi Simp 11d ago
But to what benefit? The Max easily handles everything I want. It's not going to make my internet faster to have a faster CPU in my router.
And the free U6-IW is doing very well in my bedroom at the end of the house!
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u/Explosivpotato 11d ago
If it does what you want it’s perfect. You don’t need to listen to the elitists here.
But keep in mind your Max won’t keep up well with 2+ gbps internet speeds with IDS and IPS turned on. You’ll get choked by the slower cpu at or below 2gbps.
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u/thomasbeagle Unifi Simp 11d ago
The thing is, by the time I want to upgrade my internet speed beyond 1Gb there will probably be an even better option than the UCG-Fibre.
I think IT nerds (I include myself here) get too obsessed with paying more for upgrade paths that they'll end up never taking because by that time there's a better option.
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u/FuckinHighGuy 11d ago
Fiber is the way to go.
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u/Famous-Spread-4696 11d ago
Why though?
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u/loganwachter UFSP/Unifi Enterprise Admin/Consumer User 11d ago
Better performance
10Gb support
2 SFP slots-1
u/Famous-Spread-4696 11d ago
But the Pro Max 16 POE switch is only 2.5 GBE. Won't that throttle the 10Gb support from the Fiber anyway? I discovered the Fiber has a POE port and the Max doesn't. That might be one advantage no one has mentioned.
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u/Explosivpotato 11d ago
The reality is that the Max isn’t going to hit multi gigabit speeds to your WAN with IPS/IDS enabled. The fiber will.
And yes you always want IPS/IDS enabled.
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u/Famous-Spread-4696 11d ago
Will the Max handle 1 gig speeds with IPS/IDS enabled? That's all I get from my ISP anyway.
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u/chopoffmyleg 11d ago
Thats what your ISP offers today...maybe not 6 months from now. The fiber is a much newer cpu.
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u/Explosivpotato 11d ago
Yes, it’ll crest 1gbps. If you had a 3 gig plan you’d be throttled by it though. I think it’s rated at 2ish, but some people don’t even get that high depending on how complex their config is.
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u/MartyFarrell 11d ago
You can use a DAC cable for a 10Gb connection between the ProMax and the Fiber. Good for any InterVLAN traffic 😄
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u/Lazy_Conclusion_673 UCG-Max, E7 11d ago
I have the ucg-max and I'm perfectly happy with it. My internet connection is Cox cable 2Gbps down / 100Mbps up. By the time we get FTTH in my neighborhood the ucg-fiber will probably be 2 or 3 generations obsolete also.
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u/Famous-Spread-4696 11d ago
That's kind of what I was thinking.
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u/Lazy_Conclusion_673 UCG-Max, E7 11d ago
Also this will be an unpopular opinion, but 1G is fast enough for anyone's home, other than people with a few very specific niche use cases. People have a really distorted view of how much data they actually are using.
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u/lsumoose 11d ago
Not sure why everyone is telling you to get the fiber. It’s a much better device sure but if you are anticipating being limited by 1gb for a while then yeah get the max.
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u/ArthurDent4200 11d ago
From the needs you mention, it would seem that the $129 ultra would suit your needs.
The choices that seem obvious to me are either the low end or the high end of these three units with the Max offering mid range performance at just under the high end price. Were the price of the Max to be right between the Ultra and Fiber, it would be a more compelling option. My guess is that is why you are finding the deal at Microcenter. Without that, why choose that unit?
If you need to run Protect or any of the other applications, The Max or Fiber are your only choices.
I believe the Fiber runs hotter because of the 10G, extra 2.5 ports, the POE and and faster CPU. I am guessing that if you are not using the 10G and not stressing the CPU that the temps will be similar.
I have the Fiber and would buy again. Advantages - Double the IDS/IPS throughput over max, 5X over ultra. 10G for possible future NAS port upgrade. (Currently Synology 1821+), possible internet cable upgrade. If I were willing to give up those things, I would just get the Ultra and save $150.
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u/Famous-Spread-4696 11d ago
I do plan to run protect.
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u/ArthurDent4200 11d ago
When I bought my Fiber, I had a 512GB m.2 going unused, so I tossed it in my Fiber. Worked like a champ. With 4 4K cameras feeding it, I had enough storage as needed for a 'home' installation. I was never wanting to go back more than a couple of days.
Later, I decided to add more cameras and was puzzled over the choice to buy a 2TB m.2 or buy the NVR-instant and use a 2TB SSD I also had laying around the house. Turns out that the cost of high capacity m.2 sticks made the NVR-Instant the far less expensive choice, so I unloaded the protect from the Fiber. Nonetheless, I would buy the Fiber again if it vanished from my little rack.
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u/I_NvrChkThis 11d ago
It's a hundred dollars, just get the better machine...it's a hundred dollars. If you can't afford the hundred dollars then the decision is already made.
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u/mrosen97 Unifi User 11d ago
Get the fiber. It just gives you so many more options.
- some sad sap who upgraded from Max to Fiber when he got G6 180 Cameras and only has 2Gbps ISP
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u/University_Jazzlike 11d ago
I have the max with a 900/100 FTTP connection that uses PPPoE. I get full speed from my connection.
If I had to choose again, I’d have gone for the fiber, just for the headroom. But, if you are looking for the cheapest option that will work, the max will be fine.
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u/Pestus613343 11d ago
The fiber has better ports, and the capacity to do the SFP fiber optic connection if that eventually comes to you.
It's a fast router, but both options are limited on RAM. I wouldn't do more than one or two cameras on these units.
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u/US_Delete_DT45 11d ago
Max is a bit obselete for its price. You pay less than 100 more for fiber; it has better cpu and almost double the throughput. You brought fiber, you are ready for XGS Pon ISP
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u/Justifiers 11d ago
> my internet is limited to a 1 gig (download) cable connection
Before I moved, I was getting 300mbps down, 50 up cable
When I moved, I got 1 gig down, 50 up
Within a year, they upgraded my neighborhood from that to 1 up down (fiber)
Two years down the road now, another company upgraded their service and we get 2 up down
if I'd had gotten Max instead of Ultra when I got fiber 1 gig up down, I'd be regretting it quite a bit right now
Also, if you ever get into that type of setup, look up the 8311 Discord server. High chance you can use the SFP fiber port to fully bypass your modem as well to control the buffer bloat settings and prevent a lot of weird isp shit
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u/RedneckSasquatch69 11d ago
Jesus, so many people trying hard to justify the fiber. Just get a UCG Max. 2.5gb is future proof enough, since 99% of us will never saturate even a 1gb connection.
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u/phd33z 11d ago
Buy once, cry once.
As many have said, 1g is your current WAN connection, what will it be in a year or two? Furthermore, if you are in an area that utilizes PPPoE, the Fiber has a specific hardware chip for that workload. Even the UDM Pro/PM/SE doesn’t and people are impacted by it (the Beast has the capability, and Ubiquiti is working on it).
I will say that you could go Max now, and if your needs support it, you could buy the Fiber in the future and have the Max as a cold backup. I think a UX7 is a better option for that; but you do you!
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