Do I need a KVM?

[b24567]

Budget (including currency): 150

Country: CAD

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 2 computers, 3 monitors

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

So I recently found out about something called KVMs, which can be used to run 2+ computers with 1+ screens. My current setup I have 2 machines and 3 screens and I have a USB hub which I use to switch my peripherals over like KBM, mixamp and mic. I wanted to know if I could use a KVM and how they work? I have 3 screens: MSI G272QPF, Asus VG278, and HP E24u G4. The MSI I run @ 1440p 165Hz, the Asus I run at 1080p @ 165Hz  and the HP is @ 1080p 60hz. Is there a KVM which will fit all these needs for me? Thank you in advance! 

 

[ToboRobot]

 

[will0hlep]

14 minutes ago, b24567 said:

Budget (including currency): 150

Country: CAD

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 2 computers, 3 monitors

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

So I recently found out about something called KVMs, which can be used to run 2+ computers with 1+ screens. My current setup I have 2 machines and 3 screens and I have a USB hub which I use to switch my peripherals over like KBM, mixamp and mic. I wanted to know if I could use a KVM and how they work? I have 3 screens: MSI G272QPF, Asus VG278, and HP E24u G4. The MSI I run @ 1440p 165Hz, the Asus I run at 1080p @ 165Hz  and the HP is @ 1080p 60hz. Is there a KVM which will fit all these needs for me? Thank you in advance!

Expanding on @ToboRobot's response, I myself own a Level1Techs KVM (a 4 PC 1 Monitor USB-C Display Port KVM).

 

I went for this because:

I have 3 machines I need to keep an eye on, but hated having 3 keyboards and 2 mice.

Also, while I have 5 monitors total, 2 of my machines don't do anything that requires more than 1 monitor.

 

The quality of the Level1Techs KVMs is excellent from my experiance, with only very rare moments where it plays up. However, I would personnally recommend you get the HDMI model because those come with built in EDID cloning which makes the experiance of switching from one machine to another far smoother. That said, if you have to use DP to HDMI (or HDMI to DP) cables and vice verse in order to connect the computers to the KVM (or the KVM to the monitors) you do run a slight risk that the KVM won't output video correctly.

[b24567]

16 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

 

Thanks! This definitely explains what a KVM is and that I need one to get rid of my rats nest LOL. 

Im seeing this one which would work well 
https://www.store.level1techs.com/products/p/14-kvm-switch-dual-monitor-2computer-z5erd-n6mbj

But 449$ is very pricey, are there any alternatives? Im not familiar with the pricing of KVMs so is this the price range I should be expecting to spend?

[will0hlep]

10 minutes ago, b24567 said:

Thanks! This definitely explains what a KVM is and that I need one to get rid of my rats nest LOL. 

Im seeing this one which would work well 
https://www.store.level1techs.com/products/p/14-kvm-switch-dual-monitor-2computer-z5erd-n6mbj

But 449$ is very pricey, are there any alternatives? Im not familiar with the pricing of KVMs so is this the price range I should be expecting to spend?

Lvl1Tech's KVMs are great quality, but yes they are expensive. There are cheaper options, but they usually have some big draw backs.

 

Also, see my message above about Display Port v HDMI KVMs, as the lack of EDID cloners can be very annoying on the Display Port models.

 

One question I have is do both your machines need access to atleast 2 monitors? for example, If your running a NAS as the second computer, you could probably do with just buying a single monitor two computers KVM.

[paddy-stone]

Am I weird that I monitor and use my other machines mostly by remote connection to them when needed?

I use remmina from my ubuntu desktop to connect to windows machines, and just the terminal to connect to other linux machines mostly, if I don't need a GUI to do what I need. |For OMV I use either the webGUI or terminal depending on needs. With the windows machines there can sometimes be a bit of latency issue, but it's not that big of a deal for what I need to do.

[b24567]

1 hour ago, will0hlep said:

Lvl1Tech's KVMs are great quality, but yes they are expensive. There are cheaper options, but they usually have some big draw backs.

 

Also, see my message above about Display Port v HDMI KVMs, as the lack of EDID cloners can be very annoying on the Display Port models.

 

One question I have is do both your machines need access to atleast 2 monitors? for example, If your running a NAS as the second computer, you could probably do with just buying a single monitor two computers KVM.

As far as I know the only way to get 4k @ 144Hz on the MSI is through Display port which is why I prefer to use the Display port version. But if the performance/experience is bad I would be open to using HDMI. 

My setup is made up of 2 machines a work one and a personal one. I rarely have both of them on at the same time and my current setup of having 1 output go to the work docking station and the other going to my personal machine works fine. But I really want to find a way to clear all the wires that I have, ideally using a KVM will cut the amount of display wires I have in half and also make it easier to cable manage my keyboard, mouse, mixamp and mic to an easy spot. 

If I'm not using both the machines at the same time, do I need a KVM? 

[will0hlep]

1 minute ago, b24567 said:

As far as I know the only way to get 4k @ 144Hz on the MSI is through Display port which is why I prefer to use the Display port version. But if the performance/experience is bad I would be open to using HDMI. 

My setup is made up of 2 machines a work one and a personal one. I rarely have both of them on at the same time and my current setup of having 1 output go to the work docking station and the other going to my personal machine works fine. But I really want to find a way to clear all the wires that I have, ideally using a KVM will cut the amount of display wires I have in half and also make it easier to cable manage my keyboard, mouse, mixamp and mic to an easy spot. 

If I'm not using both the machines at the same time, do I need a KVM? 

If both machines arn't running at the same time and your not frequently switching between them, EDID cloners don't matter very much and the Display Port ones would be fine.

 

That said, in the situation your describing a KVM just seems like complete overkill. If the monitors have multiple inputs they will switch input automatically when one machine is turned off and the other switched on, so adding a KVM will just increase the complexity of your setup and add more wires there.

 

And if you wouldn't be using the KVM for monitor switching, it would be no different to a switchable USB hub (that you connect to two computers and hit a button to switch between them).