I run a dozen desktops and half a dozen laptops in my home office. I run many Linux distributions on them; Windows 10 and 11; Chrome OS; and macOS. To prevent them from being taken over by me, I use keyboard, video monitor and mouse (KVM) switches.
You probably don’t have my hardware requirements, but even if you only have a laptop and a desktop computer and want to switch between them with a keyboard, display and mouse, a simple KVM may be just what you need. And if your computers can push 4K video, you want to IOGearis the latest 2-port 4K KVM switch, GCS92HU.
What is KVM?
KVM allows you to switch between two or more computers, such as your home desktop and laptop, at the touch of a button. You don’t have to jump between two very different displays; a pair of quite different keyboards; or delete field and mouse.
If you are constantly jumping from one computer to another, KVMs are very convenient. I have been using them for decades. They used to be extremely expensive. I once had a switch with eight computers that cost me over two bucks. Today, thanks in large part to IOGear, high-quality switches on two to four computer devices are available for a few hundred dollars or less.
Get a cheap KVM, like IOGear’s latest 2-port 4K KVM switch. For $ 99, you can control and switch between two DisplayPort computers from a single USB keyboard, mouse and DisplayPort monitor. This means that you can use it with any monitor that supports DisplayPort 1.1, HDMI and HDCP 2.2 video protocols. With it you can play videos up to 4K DCI, which is 4096×2160 at 60Hz. It turned out flawlessly on mine LG 27UL850-W 27-inch UHD monitors.
This KVM also doesn’t care if I’m using Windows, Mac or Linux. I can jump from Windows 11 to Linux Mint 20.3 and back without any problems. However, not everything is a job. You can also use it to play on Xbox or PS4 / 5.
Audio is also not a problem. The KVM switch supports both digital, HDMI and analog 2.1 audio via 3.5mm audio ports.
It also works without any hesitation with my keyboards. I mostly used my USB connected Logitech G513 RGB mechanical gaming keyboard with backlight. Out of curiosity, however, I tried it with my coveted Avant Stellar from Creative Vision Technologies in 2004. To my delight, I discovered that the PS / 2 to USB adapter enabled this nearly 20-year-old keyboard to work well with all my modern equipment.
The GCS92HU also supports USB hot plug with a pair of USB 2.0 ports. In other words, you can switch. You can also use these ports with a USB hub for USB peripheral sharing. You can also use a USB port for both the keyboard and the mouse.
Its setting is trivial. Just plug its cables into your devices and the cables of the keyboard, video monitor and mouse to it and you’re done.
Available with a three-year warranty. Honestly, though, I have IOGear KVMs that are more than a decade old and have never been a problem for me.
At $ 99, IOgear’s 2-port 4K KVM switchGCS92HU, worth every penny.
https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/smart-office/this-2-port-4k-kvm-switch-from-iogear-makes-switching-between-computers-easy/#ftag=RSSbaffb68
