17 R3 has USB-C/thunderbolt port so...

Does that mean the Razer Core housing may work?

Being as it uses a standard port instead of the custom one Alienware uses it feels like it would make more sense to use that instead as it may have more longevity. If the 17 R4 drops the Alienware port for something else, or you buy another brand laptop that has USB-C, it won't matter as long as the machine still has the standard USB-C port the Razer Core would still work with it.

 

I'm thinking the same....as in it should work. The USB C can handle it for sure...

 

I'd buy one to try but they are not for sale yet.

 

Will it work out of the box? Anyone is guessing right now with no certainty at all. Could it work? Theoretically, yes. There's a lot more to it than simply the connection bus.
Razer's comments during CES that any OEM could use the box were more a marketing maneuver than anything else. Yes, technically if OEM's went out of their way to ensure that thunderbolt had access to the LVDS connector to the laptop, and that the BIOS could allocate RAM resources for the PCIe lanes the eGPU would use, it would work. Fat chance at this happening with a competitors product however. Alienware has had problems with their own eGPU and the Amplifier has seen weaker than expected sales and manufacturing delays, I just read a post on reddit from someone that had placed an order in November and has had his delayed 4 times through to February right now. I can't therefore see them diverting any attention to Razer's own attempt to ensure that the laptops can utilize their box and make it work.

I might could see them following Razer's lead and replacing their PCIe cable with a thunderbolt cable, however.

 

Such as what?
All it could be on top of it would be drivers. It's a standard port. A standard spec, and it's not some customized version of Windows. So it should only need to be connected, and then have some drivers installed. Unless Razer has its software locked down to ONLY work with specific hardware, everything should be fine.

Also much easier than Alienware's way of using a custom ports and cables. that is likely part of their delays, and probably making them ask a higher price as well because they had to engineer a spec for it, not use just a readily available one.

 

Your mostly there, and I edited my post after thinking about it some more, it's not the port or the specification, it's the Main board and BIOS. The BIOS of the laptop has to be able to allocate RAM resources for the eGPU to work through the TB port, if you want to use the internal LCD panel, there has to be a controller or device that enables the Thunderbolt port access to the internal panel. These are really the only two major hurdles. Frankly it's far more likely that the alienware systems would work give they're already setup for an eGPU, but it's pure speculation as to whether one will work until someone goes out and gives it a try.

There's a site that has a lot of users specifically home brewing eGPU setups, I don't believe forum rules allow external references though but it's easily found if you just google homebrewed eGPU or similar. They've come up with a program that would be able to tell us at least whether or not the 17 R3 is able to allocate resources for the eGPU through the TB connector. If that's the case then it most definitely will at least work with an external monitor. Whether or not it would work with the internal LCD panel can't be determined until someone goes out and buys one to try.

 

It depends on how it's done. eGPU's have worked on even MacBooks made from scratch just using the ports already in place.

 

Oh yes, absolutely. Infact I contemplated building my own with my early 15 13" I had, but unfortunately at the time they were unable to 'see' the eGPU.

 

Nvidia just released a driver which notes : Beta support on GTX GPU's for external graphics over Thunderbolt 3.

Seems to become a standard?

 

I assume this means the Razer Core is closer to launch now. I may just buy one when the funds allow it.

 

I'll be interested to know what it's going to cost. I'm going to make a prediction here and say, about $500.

 

I'm thinking more like $249 - $349 with no GPU included. Since it's using already existing standards it does let them keep a lower price point than the GA. Assuming they want to pass along any of those savings to the customers.

 

I have high hopes for the Thunderbolt 3 boxes (not just eGPU, but PCIe extension boxes in general). But I'm curious if there will be that much of a speed difference over the AGA proprietary PCIe x4. Isn't that a theoretical 32 gbps? And isn't full T3 40gbps? And isn't the Alienware implementation only half-bandwidth, or 20gbps?

 

The graphics amplifier is pci express 3.0 4x which is about the same as PCI express 2.0 8x which is just enough to run a high end card without major loss of performance. But the limit is caused by the lanes available on the motorboard and CPU not the physical port as well. I think this is the case with TB3 too. There is just one 4x lane available.

 

I don't feel the use of USB-C would have any relevance on end-user price, construction costs are of course a different matter . Simply put, Razer touts itself as a premium brand. Their laptop lineup is easily several hundreds of dollars more expensive than very tough competition simply because they have less ability to leverage supplier costs or are driving higher margins off their brand name. I just don't see them coming under $400 at the minimum here, the enclosure they're using looks a lot nicer than the (plastic) graphics amp, it has a nice clear window, back lighting, ect. if it did come around where you're suggesting it'd be a dream but I'll hold my reservations until then.

Yes, exactly. There would be no performance difference. It's the nature of USB-C vs a proprietary cable at work here.