KVM switches?

Admiral Huddy · 27 Nov 2006 at 10:36

I take it these are so I can plug multiple PCs into one Monitor?

Could be handy? Anyone recommend one?

cheers

semi-pro waster · 27 Nov 2006 at 11:25

Well they just share one set of peripherals between multiple computers, two being the most common but I think you can get ones that work with more although unsurprisingly they are more expensive. They are normally PS2 connections for the keyboard and mouse only though but with adapters it shouldn't matter than much. How many computers are you likely to want connected at any one time?

Sorry I don't know much about suitable brands other than the fact that Linksys and Belkin both do models.

matt631 · 27 Nov 2006 at 12:16

KVM's are much of a much to be honest there aren't really any different types, there just branded in a different way... The norm is a 4 point switch which will allow you to connect 4 computers to 1 monitor 1 keyboard and 1 mouse... I use a linksyis one at work and its fine however with all those cables attached to the back of it there is a tendency for it to fall off my desk down the back due to the weight and strain

Captain Fizz · 27 Nov 2006 at 12:48

I'd steer clear of Belkin.
We have a few of the Omni-View's in work and they are a bit pants TBH.

Black Box make good ones.
(but not cheap)

Not used Linksys.

When buying, the most important thing to look for is thick cables.
Many of them have thin monitor cables and at anything over 1024x768 the picture quality decreases a lot.

Thicker cables allow you to have a higher resolution before the picture quality drops.
(So buying online may not be the best plan unless you can garuntee they have decent cables)

KiNETiK · 4 Dec 2006 at 11:54

Captain Fizz said:
I'd steer clear of Belkin.
We have a few of the Omni-View's in work and they are a bit pants TBH.

I'll second that. We've got some in work as well and they are rubbish. Keyboard and mouse don't work properly sometimes and picture quality looks degraded. Don't know if they do a home model but adderview KVMs are very good.

afraser2k · 4 Dec 2006 at 12:12

I've used the cheap Belkin two-port KVM switches and they are very poor in usability and quality. The four-port Belkin USB KVM switch isn't bad and I use that although it gets a bit annoying when trying to use it on my Linux system, though it could just be my Epia doesn't like USB devices. I think I'd have to recommend staying away from the Belkin models though.