I have a 2 out, 4 in usb hub with a button to switch. I press a button and my mouse, keyboard, webcam are available on my other system. I can not use them simultaneously though.
this post was submitted on 14 May 2024
26 points (96.4% liked)
Mechanical Keyboards
8878 readers
11 users here now
Are you addicted to the clicking sounds of your beautiful and impressive mechanical keyboard?
If so, this community is for you!
Here you can discuss everything about mechanical keyboards (and only mechanical keyboards).
Banner by Jay Zhang on Unsplash
founded 4 years ago
I use a Level1Techs KVM, Iβm pretty sure it meets all your requirements. Iβve used multiple brands of mechanical keyboards with it and never had a ghosting/sticky key issue.
If you're just using a mouse and keyboard, how fast does the level 1 techs KVM switch?
Itβs pretty instant. I have all my monitors running through it, but I can test when I get off work tomorrow.
That's good enough for me. You don't have to do a separate test. I've been on the fence. I am also in the keyboard mouse only camp. Unfortunately level one techs is sold out of km for now
Do you really need video?
My monitors have multiple inputs, so I just use a USB switch for my mouse and keyboard, and then switch the monitors between devices as needed.
Personally, I have ditched kvms and physical machines in favour of virtual machines everywhere. One set of input devices, three monitors, seamless control of each machine.
Works great in some situations (I run two dev environments and a couple of test machines as VMs), but not always. I need a physical Mac to do iOS development / builds, so need a USB switch to switch my keyboard and mouse to it when working.
Since both PCs are running windows just install powertoys and use mouse without borders
Of course that means can only be controlled after booting, no Bios control.
I did this after struggling with a tecsmart KVM.
Mouse without borders works really well for Windows devices.
Aten/IO Gear work well. There's rarely any problems. If something goes wrong, a power cycle fixes it. If I'm buying again, I might go for the Level1Techs.
Slow switching is normal. In my case it takes 3-4 seconds for all the USB devices to get reconnected to the other machine.
If the keyboard or mouse doesn't work in the dedicated ports, you can use the general USB port with a hub. I had a keyboard that wouldn't work using the built-in port.
If you have particular problems with Bluetooth it might be EMI noise. Put the receiver on an extension cable.
Aten has some cool looking equipment, but then wants me to "add to quote cart" no thanks. Might see if I can find it used.
IO Gear is also Aten and is available retail. I have the GCS1934 which I use daily. Came with nice cables and all. Unfortunately all DisplayPort KVMs are super expensive.
That's what I'm discovering right now, VGA or a fistful of money.
DVI is cheap, HDMI is reasonable, then there's DP. If you can get away with DVI or HDMI you could save some money. Personally I didn't want HDMI for the future proofing as well as the DP version I got supports multiple monitors per port allowing to bug a smaller KVM for multi monitor use. I haven't tested the multi monitor functionality yet. π
Here's a recommendations for what I use in my three node Proxmox homelab:
TCNEWCL KVM Switch 4 Port, HDMI KVM Switcher https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089ZW5PW5
It would give you some room to grow, supports HDMI for video, and comes with a fancy remote clicker to swap between PCs. I have a mech keyboard plugged in along with a mouse (although the mouse isn't super useful for my applications.
If it's just two PC's and no video, it's easy. There are plenty of cheap USB hubs in the β¬20-β¬30 range with a toggle switch.
I have a good experience with a ugreen branded switch that I got from Amazon. I bought it to toggle between my PC and work laptop when I started to work from home during covid.
I use one of these to control 2 PCs and one laptop with a single keyboard and mouse. It could actually run a 4th machine off the same keyboard and mouse if I wanted to cram another into my workspace.
Sharing two 4k monitors between the three as well, though the screens have nothing to do with the switch controlling keyboard and mouse.
Used some double sided tape to attach the little controller switch to the top of the docking station connecting my laptop to the displays and network as it's a light little thing that would fly all over the place otherwise. Been using the same one for over 2 years now and it's been working great!
Tried some more expensive solutions in an attempt to tie my monitors and network together along with the kbm and everything I tried had some kind of unacceptable compromise, like bad video quality.