Razer Core Confrimed at $499.99 USD

[Najuno]

Just now, Marcus Torre DeProspero said:

I thought even pcie 3.0 4x wasn't enough for a graphics card because I put my 980ti in an 8x slot and I was getting a 12% lower framerate in games and confirmed it with multiple benchmarks

No it is definitely enough. Sure you might suffer from some minor FPS loss here and there. But the bandwidth is generally enough.

As for your benchmarks, I don´t know what games, settings, etc. you´ve tried but I did that with my Titan X SLI as well on X99 and the difference in synthetic benchmarks was 3-5% and not really noticable in games.

Besides if you go for such a TB USB 3.1 C solution I don´t think you´ll be aiming at 4K and as long as you stay in 1080p or 1440p your overall gaming experience will not suffer from losing some FPS. All you need in that case IMHO is 50 FPS+. And that´s easy to achieve over this docking station. But the main point here is, this is a valid way to keep your laptop, Ultrabook or desktop replacement literally in game over years because RAM and CPU aren´t a limiting factor with laptops like the Razer Blade.

[Big-G]

Yup, until Vega and Big Pascal... we will need dual gpu's for true 4K playing. The core will just not work with a water cooled GPU like the new Pro Duo...

[Najuno]

1 minute ago, GidonsClaw said:

Yup, until Vega and Big Pascal... we will need dual gpu's for true 4K playing. The core will just not work with a water cooled GPU like the new Pro Duo...

Well until someone decides to make some either bad ass or ghetto modding hehe.

 

But even with Vega and Big Pascal this could work out though PCIe bandwidth might become more significant with those cards. I think this is just a good start in something that could proove to be interesting in the next years if those companies like Asus (their making such a station on their own) and Razer keep developing this. This could become sort of a good symbiosis between mobile and desktop.

 

I´m not going to buy any Laptop (just bought a new business in January) this year, but I´ll definitely keep an eye on the whole thing here.

[Big-G]

7 minutes ago, Najuno said:

Well until someone decides to make some either bad ass or ghetto modding hehe.

 

But even with Vega and Big Pascal this could work out though PCIe bandwidth might become more significant with those cards. I think this is just a good start in something that could proove to be interesting in the next years if those companies like Asus (their making such a station on their own) and Razer keep developing this. This could become sort of a good symbiosis between mobile and desktop.

 

I´m not going to buy any Laptop (just bought a new business in January) this year, but I´ll definitely keep an eye on the whole thing here.

True, although I think offering a chassis with integrated board to handle the PCIe to Thunderbolt/Dual USB3.1-C and power adapter will surely be a better option allowing for more customization

[olbaze]

Razer Blade Stealth, Core and a GTX 970: 1700$

Razer Blade: 2000$

 

Sure, it's expensive for a laptop accessory, but compared to their other laptops, it's priced similarly.

[Big-G]

4 minutes ago, olbaze said:

If I'm not doing my numbers wrong, Razer Blade Stealth, Core and a GTX 970 would be cheaper than a full-blown Razer Blade?

Wouldn't surprise me...

[Inventrious]

In case you might like, the CEO of Razer posted a statement on the price on Insider (the Razer forums)

https://insider.razerzone.com/index.php?threads/razer-core-399-for-blade-users-499-standalone.12294/

[Big-G]

2 minutes ago, Inventrious said:

In case you might like, the CEO of Razer posted a statement on the price on Insider (the Razer forums)

https://insider.razerzone.com/index.php?threads/razer-core-399-for-blade-users-499-standalone.12294/

Mind quoting for those who have corporate proxies blocking some sites?

[Orangeator]

4 minutes ago, GidonsClaw said:

Mind quoting for those who have corporate proxies blocking some sites?

Spoiler

I've seen quite a bit of discussion on this and I thought I'd just weigh in.

External GPUs have been attempted - but nothing like the Razer Core. We worked with Intel, AMD and nVidia to make this happen and it's truly the world's first true plug and play external gaming enclosure. 

That much said, we didn't lock it down - and other parties can work on connecting to it. However, the experience is unlikely to be as seamless as using a Razer Blade and Core together (for other laptops connecting to the Core may need rebooting instead of plug and play, frequent BSODs etc). It's not because we've locked it down - it's because there's a lot of work that's needed to make this happen and we've pioneered this. It's incredibly difficult - it's a feat of engineering both hardware and software. 

So coming to the price, we could probably have made it cheaper if we made it super big, plastic etc - it might be $300-$350 maybe. So yes - we designed a single block all aluminum chassis as opposed to plastic or even paneled aluminium. Further, the size is about half of that of other attempts at graphics enclosures. All this comes at a premium. It's a work of art. 

And for those who know the design philosophy of Razer, you'll know why we designed it as such. We don't design to price - we design to the very best experience. And it's $399 for Blade users - for those who already purchased a Blade Stealth, they'll get access to it at this price too. 

For those on a budget, there will be other companies will will make this in plastic, paneled aluminium etc, they will be much larger/bulkier, they will BSOD often etc - but they will be cheaper - so don't fret - these should come out in a year or two by other companies just like those who copied the Blade (and made cheaper versions) - so the option will always be there.

So what do you get for the $50-$100 more? The best possible experience and the best possible design and - you get it a year in advance of everyone else (if they even make it).

 

[Trik'Stari]

At that kind of retarded price, why, oh why, would you not just build a Small Form Factor PC?

 

Seriously. Just get one of those pocket-ish sized Steam Machines, and carry the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, around in a backpack. The convenience does not outweigh the absurd price at this point.

[AlexGoesHigh]

While 500$ is indeed a pretty high price for it there's no way it can be sold for 100$ and even have profits, even less Razer level margins, i say a fair price is between 200$ or 250$, mainly because of several things, first, the TB license is pretty expensive, second the chips that run it are made by Intel which we all know they ain't sell stuff for cheap, there are also including a cable which i ain't cheap like at all (because a lot of TB enable devices don't come with a cable included) and that's not even premium tier cables, just the basic ones, then there's the fact that it has a custom 500W PSU built in which of course ain't cheap, also its brand new tech which it will always have a high price for first gen stuff and finally since there's very few confirmed devices that work with it, (which are the Blade Stealth, 2016 Blade and the very recently announced skull canyon NUC) there are most likely making these in small batches.

 

So when you combine all of that together, there's no way they can sell it for 100$ and make it even, that price will be on a lost, which it will never be acceptable for any company, so yeah, 500$ is a step price but 100$ is also straight up impossible, the thing ain't just a PCIe base that can be plugged via wire, its WAY much more complex that that.

[AlexGoesHigh]

22 minutes ago, Orangeator said:

  Hide contents

I've seen quite a bit of discussion on this and I thought I'd just weigh in.

External GPUs have been attempted - but nothing like the Razer Core. We worked with Intel, AMD and nVidia to make this happen and it's truly the world's first true plug and play external gaming enclosure. 

That much said, we didn't lock it down - and other parties can work on connecting to it. However, the experience is unlikely to be as seamless as using a Razer Blade and Core together (for other laptops connecting to the Core may need rebooting instead of plug and play, frequent BSODs etc). It's not because we've locked it down - it's because there's a lot of work that's needed to make this happen and we've pioneered this. It's incredibly difficult - it's a feat of engineering both hardware and software. 

So coming to the price, we could probably have made it cheaper if we made it super big, plastic etc - it might be $300-$350 maybe. So yes - we designed a single block all aluminum chassis as opposed to plastic or even paneled aluminium. Further, the size is about half of that of other attempts at graphics enclosures. All this comes at a premium. It's a work of art. 

And for those who know the design philosophy of Razer, you'll know why we designed it as such. We don't design to price - we design to the very best experience. And it's $399 for Blade users - for those who already purchased a Blade Stealth, they'll get access to it at this price too. 

For those on a budget, there will be other companies will will make this in plastic, paneled aluminium etc, they will be much larger/bulkier, they will BSOD often etc - but they will be cheaper - so don't fret - these should come out in a year or two by other companies just like those who copied the Blade (and made cheaper versions) - so the option will always be there.

So what do you get for the $50-$100 more? The best possible experience and the best possible design and - you get it a year in advance of everyone else (if they even make it).

 

Maximum ego overload has been achieved on that part, yeah i really doubt the upcoming implementation by ASUS of this concept will be prone to crashing like he says, and i also doubt they made the software, its just drivers by Intel and the GPU vendors, all they did is validation but its sure as hell those same drivers will be on other devices that can support eGFX.

[MoonSpot]

500 US dollars?!  BAWHAHAHA!

 

Oh, they're serious? ... Well razor, f*ck you too I guess.

[Beauds28]

Yeah, this does seem pretty overpriced. If this price included a mid range card that would be justifiable, but without one the price will scare people away. For that price + a graphics card you might as well build a desktop or just buy a gaming laptop with the card already installed. 

[Beauds28]

9 minutes ago, AlexGoesHigh said:

i say a fair price is between 200$ or 250$

That range would easily be fair. Just reading the specs people should not be thinking it would be $100 for what it can do. But Razor does seem to like overpricing their products so I sadly doubt we see a price drop, unless no one buys it for the price. 

[MoonSpot]

2 minutes ago, Beauds28 said:

That range would easily be fair. Just reading the specs people should not be thinking it would be $100 for what it can do. But Razor does seem to like gouging for their products so I sadly doubt we see a price drop, unless no one buys it for the price. 

FTFY.  There is a difference between the two.

[Beauds28]

4 minutes ago, MoonSpot said:

FTFY.  There is a difference between the two.

There is, but this isn't gouging. All the parts alone, if using quality parts, are minimally $150-$200. There is more then just a place to plug in a card. There is the spot to place the card, USB 3 ports and a thunderbolt 3 port and cable. The thunderbolt 3 setup alone is pretty pricey. Also the cost of labor for making them that Razer has to pay is going to be moved to us, because that is how any company does it. I still do not think $500 is a fair price, but it is far from gouging, maybe a little pathetic, but not gouging. 

[flexluthor]

1 hour ago, Inventrious said:

In case you might like, the CEO of Razer posted a statement on the price on Insider (the Razer forums)

https://insider.razerzone.com/index.php?threads/razer-core-399-for-blade-users-499-standalone.12294/

God, the amount of people in that thread who are all over that product just killed me a bit inside.

 

Does anyone really believe this garbage? Razer is becoming more like a cult (or most probably already is).

Spoiler

https://insider.razerzone.com/index.php?threads/razer-core-399-for-blade-users-499-standalone.12294/page-2#post-216692 

 

[byalexandr]

Better come with a god damn card then....

[Tasuma]

I like the concept if you already have a gaming pc with a gpu and you simply want to use it with a laptop. 

[Fgtfv567]

27 minutes ago, byalexandr said:

Better come with a god damn card then....

Sorry, you have to buy your own card!

[Ex14]

as I mentioned in the rumored thread, guys 500 dollars is not as expensive as some of you guys might believe. Honestly,  have you seen any of the prices for TB peripherals? Don't get me wrong the price is steep, and there is some Razer "tax" but considering the current prices for TB stuff (wires included btw,  those cost a ton) and what you get + build quality (assumed)  + engineering /development work +early adopter price...It's expensive, but not RIDICULOUSLY expensive. 

[Ex14]

Just now, valdyrgramr said:

So, like 2 grand for the laptop, 500 for this, and then like 200-1000 for the GPU?

 

Okay, so that's like 2700 at the minimum.

 

Let's see what I can build for around that.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($374.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($104.99 @ Micro Center) 
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($172.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: GeIL Dragon RAM 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-4000 Memory  ($249.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($619.99 @ Micro Center) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($619.99 @ Micro Center) 
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($189.99 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($40.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $2688.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-17 01:41 EDT-0400

That thing is way too overpriced.

 

Now, after going to their site they do have one laptop for like 1600.  I can remove like one 980ti, and probably meet the price.  I don't see these selling well.

like to see you using that on your lap

[Ex14]

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

My ancestors were Vikings.  One was a berserker, an asshole/bully that was overly strong and good in combat that wore bear skins used for land disputes, so I think I can manage.  I wouldn't exactly call their product exactly mobile either.  You're carrying around a bulky gaming laptop/not  a thin laptop for editing, then you're probably carrying something as heavy a toaster oven around, and the additional weight of the GPU itself.  I don't really think it's that logical.  The only people I can really see buying this is some tournament gamers with a very high reputation or someone who really needs those CUDA cores on the go.  

but the blade is decently species,  thin and it  weighs near 2kg which isn't that heavy tbh. (I'm talking about the new blade not stealth which is just an ultra book.;good but not what I really want) t

 

the core is left at home for when you want that extra juice. 

 

for the stealth I guess the value proposition is that for a relatively low price you get a nice well built ultra book that you can use as a gaming machine at home as well. in essence you "save"  on buying another cpu/motherboard's compared to buying a desktop and laptop separately. 

[RexinOridle]

Yayeee, it went down a penny.