Jump to content

One PC separate rooms.

Wasko517
By Wasko517
in General Discussion
 Share
Go to solution Solved by Kisai,
1 hour ago, Wasko517 said:

So I’ve done some research and cost analysis on whats needed. 
 

-PRIME Z690-A Thunderbolt 4 header onboard already have.

 

-ASUS ThunderboltEX 4: Intel certified, can run 8k or 2 4k $119

 

-Corning TB3 cable 50’ $389

 

-CalDigit TS4 dock $360
 

Gist I’m getting is it will work but connecting a cable from point A-B is a headache.

Yeah, that may work.

 

The thing you're going to run into is probably turning the dock on and off, since the docks assume they are powering the computer. From experience with TB docks, they are more finicky and require all the TB drivers to be installed on the host device before you even attempt to plug it in. If you plug it in first, Microsoft will install generic drivers for it and all the hardware it sees in the dock, thus making it harder to install the correct drivers.

 

From experience (with DELL docks), usually the audio is the hardest to make work since realtek's control panels are broken between the driver and windows store. 

 

I must still point out that you're spending around $800, which is the same as another computer without a GPU.  You may luck out and have this work as-expected, but again, these docks are intended for laptops, so you may have conflicts when the dock is plugged in that might not be an issue on a laptop.

 

The audio (as mentioned) is usually the one with the most contention, with often the dock's own audio preventing any USB audio device from being used. (no endpoints available.) Other issues you may run into could include drop-outs in the video if you connect any high-bandwidth USB devices to the dock.

 

Posted
6 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

KVM over UTP extenders could bring it 100 feet or more on a regular patch cable.

 

They're recommending a top-end video card because their software supports real-time ray tracing. If she's just doing renders, the 1070 machine should be fine. Install the trial version on it and take it for a test drive. 

 

Those KVM over UTP units tend to only be designed for servers, hence they have VGA on them, not displayport. Even if you can get one with HDMI on it, it's usually HDMI only, no USB. They're intended for things like control rooms.

 

Like I would avoid those just because they're not what the OP is really asking for. The TB cable+dock moves the video, audio, keyboard mouse, and some USB ports to where the monitor is. Thus no need to go physically plug anything into the PC if needed (where as all KVM solutions would require this.) However the downside of this setup is the expensive, fragile cable. Corning made this with fixed transceivers on both ends, which means if you damage the cable, you are unlikely to be able to fix it. Where as the KVM's using ethernet cables are a little more repairable.

 

The thing to keep in mind is that both fiber and ethernet can not be kinked, it can only be gently bent and retain it's rated grade. If you force it to bend, which means not doing things you would normally do with other kind of wiring. Like you really do need to drill holes in walls to avoid running it along the floor/under doors. Stepping on it will usually break ANY cable.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 7 months later...
Posted
On 4/1/2022 at 6:13 AM, Wasko517 said:

Cool thanks man, I'll give it a go.  I already built the monster PC.  Wanted to give her a better experience designing at home than she has at work.  

 

She will be doing the full shabang, I wanted her to have the real time Ray Tracing feature while designing.  I also selfishly wanted a monster gaming PC so 2 birds, one stone.  She just doesn't like my office style so trying to figure out a functional way to make that happen.  

 

Appreciate your help, I'll look into KVM as well as the TB4 over fibre.

What were your experience so far with this? I'm considering the TS3 or TS4 from Caldigit for a similar build where ports would not be easily accessible and am trying to find options that would work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing General Discussion

×