Making my own Razer Core?

[SuhRaZal]

Recently looking into the Razer Core and was impressed with what they've managed, PCI E over Thunderbolt 3 through USB type C. I was interested in maybe acquiring one but upon discovering the price (500 Pounds/Dollars), I was instantly put off.

I thought to myself what it would take to make my own version and i derived this list:

• 
  Power Supply for the graphics card (I'll probably use a cheap 1U server PSU or if anyone knows of a smaller one, probably a SFX/TFX, or anything with ridiculously small form factor).
  
  Some kind of card that has a female PCI E port and a male USB type C output or female so i can plug a male to male cable in.
  
  A case of some sort, possibly machined aluminium or 3D printed. I wouldn't be able to do this myself so i'd love if anyone has info about people who could make this in the UK (If it comes to it i'll take some blood, sweat, & tears and just try and make a case myself).

The card is the biggest issue I have, I know of no company that produces something like this and would be greatly appreciative if someone could provide me with a company name/website.
If it get's to the point where there is no such thing as this card, other than the one Razer uses, I'd like to know what it would take to have one of these cards produced (price for a small batch of 5-10 and also a one off).

You never know, this project might get to a point where a kickstarter gets funded and this becomes a mass produced product (Obviously at a price much lower than Razer's scandalous version).

Thank you for your help.

 

[interval]

Recently looking into the Razer Core and was impressed with what they've managed, PCI E over Thunderbolt 3 through USB type C. I was interested in maybe acquiring one but upon discovering the price (500 Pounds/Dollars), I was instantly put off.

I thought to myself what it would take to make my own version and i derived this list:

• 
  Power Supply for the graphics card (I'll probably use a cheap 1U server PSU or if anyone knows of a smaller one, probably a SFX/TFX, or anything with ridiculously small form factor).
  
  Some kind of card that has a female PCI E port and a male USB type C output or female so i can plug a male to male cable in.
  
  A case of some sort, possibly machined aluminium or 3D printed. I wouldn't be able to do this myself so i'd love if anyone has info about people who could make this in the UK (If it comes to it i'll take some blood, sweat, & tears and just try and make a case myself).

The card is the biggest issue I have, I know of no company that produces something like this and would be greatly appreciative if someone could provide me with a company name/website.
If it get's to the point where there is no such thing as this card, other than the one Razer uses, I'd like to know what it would take to have one of these cards produced (price for a small batch of 5-10 and also a one off).

You never know, this project might get to a point where a kickstarter gets funded and this becomes a mass produced product (Obviously at a price much lower than Razer's scandalous version).

Thank you for your help.

I first bought the Blade Stealth and was so in love with it I went ahead I purchased a Core a month later. And I have to say I really don't regret it. Scandalous or not, the Blade Stealth/Core hardware combo is a very useful solution for me. $500 usd is a steep price, but other external GPU solutions are not that much cheaper in the grand scheme knowing that you still need to pay for that GPU. Plus they (I found two possible replacement solutions for the Core, and they are PCI/e based, not USB C) aren't compatible with the Blade Stealth.

So; you want to create a Core-like solution for under $500 USD/~400 sterling. You have a number of technical hurdles to overcome:
You will need to create a PCI/e to USB C bridge, you'll not only need the hardware but firmware for the bridge, and a driver for the Razer CPU. I would be surprised if the Core driver will work with your solution without modification. To modify that driver, if you don't write your own, you'll need the source. That won't happen without some serious money; as far as I know Razer's Core driver is closed source. Also: you may run against some serious Razer intellectual property issued. Doing a patent search costs money.

You're in for one expensive ride if you try this; I doubt you'll be able to produce your final design at a unit price much cheaper than the Core, which is already on the market. Good luck.