Looking for KVM recommendations

JohnnyS_ · January 11, 2023

Good day all,

I am in need of a KVM switch to be able to switch my equipment from my personal pc to my work machine. Here is what I have

Personal PC
- Keyboard
- Wireless Mouse
- 2 1080p 144hz monitor
- 1 1440p 165hz monitor
Work Laptop
- Running Linux Fedora
- Dell Latitude 5420

I was looking into things like HDMI/DP switches just for the video but then I realized that switching my keyboard and mouse and all that over will start being a pain as well. Does anyone have any product recommendation for a KVM that wont break my bank, my budget would be probably under $200 USD but would prefer someone not as high, if it needs to be higher please let me know why and I will consider. This is the first time I will be experimenting with KVM switches so if you need more information about my pc or the work let me know if that is needed. Thanks!

varrys · January 13, 2023

On 1/11/2023 at 6:07 PM, JohnnyS_ said:

Good day all,

I am in need of a KVM switch to be able to switch my equipment from my personal pc to my work machine. Here is what I have

Personal PC

Keyboard

Wireless Mouse

2 1080p 144hz monitor

1 1440p 165hz monitor

Work Laptop

Running Linux Fedora

Dell Latitude 5420

I was looking into things like HDMI/DP switches just for the video but then I realized that switching my keyboard and mouse and all that over will start being a pain as well. Does anyone have any product recommendation for a KVM that wont break my bank, my budget would be probably under $200 USD but would prefer someone not as high, if it needs to be higher please let me know why and I will consider. This is the first time I will be experimenting with KVM switches so if you need more information about my pc or the work let me know if that is needed. Thanks!

I run a PC and work laptop, with just 2 monitors. This KVM with 3 USB allows you to switch between running 2 monitors for either PC, or one for each. It won't do three monitors, so you may have to look for a different model if you truly need all 3 monitors for the laptop. You can find cheaper KVMs that can handle multiple monitors but may not offer the ability to split the monitors among sources.

If by chance you really only need one monitor for the laptop work, I would consider doing a simple USB switch. I strongly debated getting a fancy KCM to do it all, but in the end, it's truly not that hard to hit my Input button on my main monitor to switch between work (weekdays) and PC (weekends for gaming). I run my 2nd monitor as my PC during week for music and personal use. I only need the main monitor for work laptop, not both. The USB switch (technically a HDMI switch with 4 USB, but I don't use the HDMI) did what I needed it to do for $35 instead of spending $200. But your use case may differ.

JohnnyS_ · February 6, 2023

On 1/13/2023 at 1:14 PM, varrys said:

I run a PC and work laptop, with just 2 monitors. This KVM with 3 USB allows you to switch between running 2 monitors for either PC, or one for each. It won't do three monitors, so you may have to look for a different model if you truly need all 3 monitors for the laptop. You can find cheaper KVMs that can handle multiple monitors but may not offer the ability to split the monitors among sources.

If by chance you really only need one monitor for the laptop work, I would consider doing a simple USB switch. I strongly debated getting a fancy KCM to do it all, but in the end, it's truly not that hard to hit my Input button on my main monitor to switch between work (weekdays) and PC (weekends for gaming). I run my 2nd monitor as my PC during week for music and personal use. I only need the main monitor for work laptop, not both. The USB switch (technically a HDMI switch with 4 USB, but I don't use the HDMI) did what I needed it to do for $35 instead of spending $200. But your use case may differ.

Sorry I never got notified about this answer. Yeah I am going to look into this, I'm not sure if I really only need one monitor for work, Im still in training at the moment so until I get to production I have to wait out and get feedback, but I did get a USB Switch in the meantime anyways for the laptop and my pc for my keyboard and mouse. Ill test this out