I am OLDMONSTER, the author of the Chinese open-source PEX8796/PEX88096.
My English skills are poor, so I've never really understood what foreign friends focus on regarding these open-source project products.
The address of the open-source project: KCORES—老妖怪 - 立创开源硬件平台
In China, there is a mature PCB production chain for individual users, along with a vast industry of disassembled and refurbished chips. This enables ordinary individuals to replicate such projects or their derivatives at low costs. In contrast, such conditions are generally absent abroad, and even if available, the prices would become prohibitively expensive.
As for why these replicas or derivative products are so expensive overseas, I personally don’t sell products or have experience shipping them abroad.
In China, PEX8748 costs approximately $7 per unit, PEX8796 around $9 per unit, and PEX88096 about $60 per unit. As for niche products like PEX88048, their market volume is minimal, so they won't be cheaper than PEX88096. Yes, you heard right—in China's dismantling and refurbishing industry, chip prices aren't determined by their inherent scale or value but by their scarcity.
The PEX88096 is designed as an AIC card with a total cost between $110. I'm unsure why it's being sold on AliExpress for over $400, which is not my intention. After designing the open-source project, I will have a Guangdong-based manufacturer produce a batch. If you need it, I can contact them for you.
The current mainstream PCIE switches in the market are Broadcom and Microchip.
Microchip's chips are not in significant stock in China, and nearly all GEN4/GEN5 chips are secured with locks, making it impossible for me to obtain the corresponding keys.
Regarding Broadcom PCIe Switch GEN5.
Although the stock of Broadcom's GEN5 chips in the Chinese market is substantial, most of them are currently locked, with only a small number being unlocked. Moreover, the loss requirements for PCIe GEN5 are extremely stringent, with a margin of only -36dB. The cost of high-speed PCB materials in China's PCB industry is also high, making low-cost manufacturing currently unfeasible.
Last year, I designed a motherboard based on the INTEL NUC13 and PEX89104, along with a ReDriver test card. Although it functions properly, it fails to meet the signal requirements for PCIe 5.0, so there are no plans for mass production.
If you want to contact me or discuss PCIE switch-related knowledge, you can download and register
Tencent QQ, search and join the QQ group 935599241.
My English skills are poor, so I've never really understood what foreign friends focus on regarding these open-source project products.
The address of the open-source project: KCORES—老妖怪 - 立创开源硬件平台
In China, there is a mature PCB production chain for individual users, along with a vast industry of disassembled and refurbished chips. This enables ordinary individuals to replicate such projects or their derivatives at low costs. In contrast, such conditions are generally absent abroad, and even if available, the prices would become prohibitively expensive.
As for why these replicas or derivative products are so expensive overseas, I personally don’t sell products or have experience shipping them abroad.
In China, PEX8748 costs approximately $7 per unit, PEX8796 around $9 per unit, and PEX88096 about $60 per unit. As for niche products like PEX88048, their market volume is minimal, so they won't be cheaper than PEX88096. Yes, you heard right—in China's dismantling and refurbishing industry, chip prices aren't determined by their inherent scale or value but by their scarcity.
The PEX88096 is designed as an AIC card with a total cost between $110. I'm unsure why it's being sold on AliExpress for over $400, which is not my intention. After designing the open-source project, I will have a Guangdong-based manufacturer produce a batch. If you need it, I can contact them for you.
The current mainstream PCIE switches in the market are Broadcom and Microchip.
Microchip's chips are not in significant stock in China, and nearly all GEN4/GEN5 chips are secured with locks, making it impossible for me to obtain the corresponding keys.
Regarding Broadcom PCIe Switch GEN5.
Although the stock of Broadcom's GEN5 chips in the Chinese market is substantial, most of them are currently locked, with only a small number being unlocked. Moreover, the loss requirements for PCIe GEN5 are extremely stringent, with a margin of only -36dB. The cost of high-speed PCB materials in China's PCB industry is also high, making low-cost manufacturing currently unfeasible.
Last year, I designed a motherboard based on the INTEL NUC13 and PEX89104, along with a ReDriver test card. Although it functions properly, it fails to meet the signal requirements for PCIe 5.0, so there are no plans for mass production.
If you want to contact me or discuss PCIE switch-related knowledge, you can download and register
Tencent QQ, search and join the QQ group 935599241.
