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KVM or USB switch reccomendation (self.pcgaming)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by inclementimmigrant to c/pcgaming

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So recently had the ability to work from home a bit more than usual so I'm in the market for a KVM or USB switch to go between my PC and work laptop. Anyone have suggestions?

ETA. Thanks for all of the useful feedback, appreciate it!

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[–] inclementimmigrant 5 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Sure. Sub $200 is what I'm looking at. Something that can handle multiple 1440p ultrawides with good USB 3.0 support.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

As someone that works in AV for exactly your type of scenario.. you unfortunately won't find anything that supports >1080p60 for under $500. That type of video bandwidth is at a premium for switching on KVMs, matrixes, eg. Good USB 3 support is unfortunately expensive, too.

Expect lots of noticeable lag, too. Switches aren't engineered for gaming yet.

[–] inclementimmigrant 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

That's a shame. I was thinking that I could get along with just a USB switch for the mouse and keyboard and manually switching displays when needed as the bare minimum. I can't imagine a simple USB switch would have that much delay in response time for peripherals but who knows.

Either way thanks for the great input.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

multiple 1440p ultrawides

Yeah that won't be cheap. https://www.store.level1techs.com/products/p/14-kvm-switch-dual-monitor-2computer-z5erd-n6mbj

Might I suggest a USB switcher, a hub, and just changing inputs on the monitor?

[–] inclementimmigrant 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, as I keep looking that's what it seems like it's the best choice to continue to game and be productive, which is fine by me, not that hard to switch inputs on a monitor.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

Check out ddcutil and setting keyboard shortcuts. At a single press you can switch monitor inputs easily so no need to fiddle with monitor buttons. Combined with a USB switcher you’re down to just 2 button presses to swap machines like this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

You're not gonna get that for under $200.

https://www.kvm-switches-online.com/cs1942dp.html

If you can verify you can use MST or displayport passthrough, you can get one for a bit over $200: https://www.kvm-switches-online.com/cs1922.html

I would verify your video and USB bandwidth requirements will work with those before purchasing. You may need to go up a model level if you're going to be pushing a lot of data.