Bit random.. how far away can my PC be from my desk?

alexx · 8 Apr 2017 at 10:19

I'm thinking about making a central area in the house to hold my pc and other bits (switches ect). I like the idea of running a few hdmi cables from this area and usb's to my office so that I have a perfectly quiet room.

I don't ever need access to the PC and it's left on all the time but maybe a remote switch needs to be considered?

It was more the fall out on the length of cable for the USB that I thought could be a concern or lag over a 20 meter length of hdmi?

Has anyone done similar?

StarShock · 8 Apr 2017 at 10:39

I think Linus did something similar on youtube.

edit. - think this is the one

andicole0 · 8 Apr 2017 at 10:40

I run a powered usb cable from my loft along with usb over ethernet. Both seem to work. I assume a similar powered hdmi cable would do the same.
There may however be performance issues if these are used for extreme situations.
Andi.

alexx · 8 Apr 2017 at 11:00

Just watched the Linus video - that thunderbolt option is very neat. However if he's running everything from the thunderbolt then I'm confused to how he's using his graphics card? Does it plug into the gcard internally to get the signal?

If not do I need to run powered cables? would a standard hdmi and usb extension do the trick or am I missing the point of what a powered cable enables?

StarShock · 8 Apr 2017 at 11:18

think he was using one of these, not really sure what if any fiddling needs to be done to get the discrete GPU to output to the thunderbolt though

https://www.elgato.com/en/thunderbolt-3-dock

andicole0 · 8 Apr 2017 at 11:55

Powered or active cables are available with the correct connections so you don't need an extension as such.
I can't link to any as most are available from competitors here.
Andi.

alexx · 8 Apr 2017 at 12:10

I guess it'd only be powered usb3 I need? and maybe a remote switch to turn it on? HDMI would be fine over that distance with a normal cable I'd assume?

HACO · 9 Apr 2017 at 01:37

alexx said:
I guess it'd only be powered usb3 I need? and maybe a remote switch to turn it on? HDMI would be fine over that distance with a normal cable I'd assume?

Yeah. Only powered USB. HDMI or DisplayPort are fine over 20 meters. Fiber optic USB cables are the neatest solution (you can even have them at a few hundred meters). But they will cost a lot. Thunderbolt 3 plus a dock is also quite neat, but I still haven't seen anything interesting available in the market.