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Single Monitor, 2 PCs Setup, Help needed

Ulyssesfr
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Hi everyone, first time on the forum after recently discovering Linus Tech Tips (bunch of mad geniuses!).

 

My current setup is as such:

I have 2 PCs (1 for Gaming, 1 runnning as a Plex Server), both are connected to a single ACER Predator X34 monitor (100Hz GSync enabled) through an HDMI KVM switch allowing me to use a single mouse and keyboard and to switch from one PC to the other with the push of a button.

 

The problem is two-fold: since it all goes through HDMI cables, I can't really take adavantage of the 100Hz refresh rate of my monitor also as far as I know. In addition, I couldn't find DisplayPort KVM that support up to 100Hz refresh rate (unless I'm wrong, that's why I'm here asking you guys, please prove me wrong).

 

Could anyone think of a setup that would allow me to take full advantage of my 100Hz display whilst keeping my single Monitor/Mouse/Keyboard setup?

 

Is it possible to plug both my PCs directly into my monitor (i.e. my gaming PC using the monitor's DisplayPort and my Plex Server using the monitor's HDMI port) then choosing which output to diaply (how?!) and have some sort of switch for just the keyboard and mouse (I don't even know if those exist).

 

Thanks for your time everyone!

 

Kind regards,

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Ulyssesfr said:

Could anyone think of a setup that would allow me to take full advantage of my 100Hz display whilst keeping my single Monitor/Mouse/Keyboard setup?

This might be the only DP KVM I know of that will officially do high-refresh-rate. It costs a pretty penny, though.

 

Otherwise, if your Plex server is Windows (and Pro), set up Remote Desktop and make it headless.

Main System (Byarlant): Ryzen 7 5800X | Asus B550-Creator ProArt | EK 240mm Basic AIO | 16GB G.Skill DDR4 3200MT/s CAS-14 | XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600 | Samsung 990 PRO 2TB / Samsung 960 PRO 512GB / 4× Crucial MX500 2TB (RAID-0) | Corsair RM750X | Mellanox ConnectX-3 10G NIC | Inateck USB 3.0 Card | Hyte Y60 Case | Dell U3415W Monitor | Keychron K4 Brown (white backlight)

 

Laptop (Narrative): Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US | Ryzen 5 4500U | 16GB RAM (soldered) | Vega 6 Graphics | SKHynix P31 1TB NVMe SSD | Intel AX200 Wifi (all-around awesome machine)

 

Proxmox Server (Veda): Ryzen 7 3800XT | AsRock Rack X470D4U | Corsair H80i v2 | 64GB Micron DDR4 ECC 3200MT/s | 4x 10TB WD Whites / 4x 14TB Seagate Exos / 2× Samsung PM963a 960GB SSD | Seasonic Prime Fanless 500W | Intel X540-T2 10G NIC | LSI 9207-8i HBA | Fractal Design Node 804 Case (side panels swapped to show off drives) | VMs: TrueNAS Scale; Ubuntu Server (PiHole/PiVPN/NGINX?); Windows 10 Pro; Ubuntu Server (Apache/MySQL)


Media Center/Video Capture (Jesta Cannon): Ryzen 5 1600X | ASRock B450M Pro4 R2.0 | Noctua NH-L12S | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s CAS-22 | EVGA GTX750Ti SC | UMIS NVMe SSD 256GB / Seagate 1.5TB HDD | Corsair CX450M | Viewcast Osprey 260e Video Capture | Mellanox ConnectX-2 10G NIC | LG UH12NS30 BD-ROM | Silverstone Sugo SG-11 Case | Sony XR65A80K

 

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Network:

Spoiler 
                           ┌─────────────── Office/Rack ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
Google Fiber Webpass ────── UniFi Security Gateway ─── UniFi Switch 8-60W ─┬─ UniFi Switch Flex XG ═╦═ Veda (Proxmox Virtual Switch)
(500Mbps↑/500Mbps↓)                             UniFi CloudKey Gen2 (PoE) ─┴─ Veda (IPMI)           ╠═ Veda-NAS (HW Passthrough NIC)
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═ Narrative (Asus USB 2.5G NIC)
║ ┌────── Closet ──────┐   ┌─────────────── Bedroom ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
╚═ UniFi Switch Flex XG ═╤═ UniFi Switch Flex XG ═╦═ Byarlant
   (PoE)                 │                        ╠═ Narrative (Cable Matters USB-PD 2.5G Ethernet Dongle)
                         │                        ╚═ Jesta Cannon*
                         │ ┌─────────────── Media Center ──────────────────────────────────┐
Notes:                   └─ UniFi Switch 8 ─────────┬─ UniFi Access Point nanoHD (PoE)
═══ is Multi-Gigabit                                ├─ Sony Playstation 4 
─── is Gigabit                                      ├─ Pioneer VSX-S520
* = cable passed to Bedroom from Media Center       ├─ Sony XR65A80K (Google TV)
** = cable passed from Media Center to Bedroom      └─ Work Laptop** (Startech USB-PD Dock)

 

Retired/Other:

Spoiler

Laptop (Rozen-Zulu): Sony VAIO VPCF13WFX | Core i7-740QM | 8GB Patriot DDR3 | GT 425M | Samsung 850EVO 250GB SSD | Blu-ray Drive | Intel 7260 Wifi (lived a good life, retired with honor)

Testbed/Old Desktop (Kshatriya): Xeon X5470 @ 4.0GHz | ZALMAN CNPS9500 | Gigabyte EP45-UD3L | 8GB Nanya DDR2 400MHz | XFX HD6870 DD | OCZ Vertex 3 Max-IOPS 120GB | Corsair CX430M | HooToo USB 3.0 PCIe Card | Osprey 230 Video Capture | NZXT H230 Case

TrueNAS Server (La Vie en Rose): Xeon E3-1241v3 | Supermicro X10SLL-F | Corsair H60 | 32GB Micron DDR3L ECC 1600MHz | 1x Kingston 16GB SSD / Crucial MX500 500GB

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Yes you can 

35 minutes ago, Ulyssesfr said:

Is it possible to plug both my PCs directly into my monitor (i.e. my gaming PC using the monitor's DisplayPort and my Plex Server using the monitor's HDMI port) then choosing which output to diaply

Yes. Just use the buttons on the monitor to select the input.

If you're interested in a product please download and read the manual first.

Don't forget to tag or quote in your reply if you want me to know you've answered or have another question.

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Wow, I can't believe it would be that easy >< So it's a bit like changing the display input on a TV? that's amazing news!

 

Now I just need to find a switch for just the mouse and keyboard. Could I still someohow use my KVM switch or should I get a specialised item for just the 2 input devices?

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48 minutes ago, AbydosOne said:

This might be the only DP KVM I know of that will officially do high-refresh-rate. It costs a pretty penny, though.

 

Otherwise, if your Plex server is Windows (and Pro), set up Remote Desktop and make it headless.

Indeed, too expensive and also out of stock.

 

I had RealVNC running before switching to a mechanical KVM option, but I spend a fair amount of time on the server machine sorting/watching/editing videos too and I found the experience through remote login to be less enjoyable and laggy (I admit I probably didn't spend enough time setting it up). Would you recommend a remote connection software that would give me a similar user experience than a direct connection would? 

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1 hour ago, AbydosOne said:

This might be the only DP KVM I know of that will officially do high-refresh-rate. It costs a pretty penny, though.

 

Otherwise, if your Plex server is Windows (and Pro), set up Remote Desktop and make it headless.

I only have Windows 10 Home Edition by the way.

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