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USB hub and KVM switch upgrading advice

ayocaptainjack
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Budget (including currency): 500 euros

Country: the Netherlands

I have drawn out my current situation in the diagram attached. Recently I bought the new Mac mini as a home server, and to fiddle around with. I also have a work laptop and my own (gaming) pc. I would love to be able to switch between my three workstations with just one button click. Since my current usb hub can only switch between two computers, I have to manually replug the cables every time I want to work with my Mac mini. I'd love a solution where I can switch all my peripherals (keyboard usb, mouse usb, ethernet, external hard drives, etc.) between all three computers. I'm also looking for a KVM switch that can handle 3 computers and two monitors. I wouldn't mind nesting two "dual monitor two pc" kvm switches. But all the different outputs from my workstations make it that I haven't been able to find a kvm switch that handles my flow. Could you help me find a workable solution, without spending way more than 500 euros?

 

DD8A2610-7433-4AFB-9F64-1BFACC0204EE.png

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Imo the best KVMs are level1tech KVMs but they arn't cheap.

 

This would be the perfect tool for the job but it is alot over budget

https://www.store.level1techs.com/products/p/hdmi-21-kvm-wedid-serial-control-dual-monitor-four-computer

 

This is in budget, but would only work for 2 computers to 2 monitors. Also, it is missing EDID cloning which can make switching times a pain (It means that the computers assume there is no monitor attached when they arn't selected).

https://www.store.level1techs.com/products/p/14-kvm-switch-dual-monitor-2computer-z5erd-n6mbj
 

This is probably what I'd recommend... the downside is you only get to switch on 1 of the monitors.
https://www.store.level1techs.com/products/p/hdmi-21-kvm-wedid-serial-control-single-monitor-four-computer

Another issue is you'll need to wait for some of them to come back into stock.

Another far cheaper alternative is just to connected every PC to every monitor, and buy a USB KVM for your periferials. It isn't 1 button, but it would be far cheaper.

I might be experienced, but I'm human and I do make mistakes. Trust but Verify! Expand for common PC building advice, a short bio and a list of my components and other tech. I edit my messages after sending them alot, please refresh before posting your reply. Please try to be clear and specific, you'll get a better answer. Please remember to mark solutions once you have the information you need.

 

Common build advice: 1) Buy the cheapest (well reviewed) motherboard that has the features you need. Paying more typically only gets you features you won’t use. 2) only get as much RAM as you need, getting more won’t (typically) make your PC faster. 3) While I recommend getting an NVMe drive, you don’t need to splurge for an expensive drive with DRam cache, DRamless drives are fine for gamers. 4) paying for looks is fine, just don’t break the bank. 5) Tower coolers are usually good enough, unless you go top tier Intel or plan on OCing. 6) OCing is a dead meme, you probably shouldn’t bother. 7) "Bottlenecks" rarely matter and "Future-proofing" is a myth. 8) AIOs don't noticably improve performance past 240mm.

 

useful websites: https://www.productchart.com - helps compare monitors, https://uk.pcpartpicker.com - makes designing a PC easier.

 

He/Him

 

I'm a PhD student working in the fields of reinforcement learning and traffic control. PCs are one of my hobbies and I've built many PCs and performed upgrades on a few laptops (for myself, friends and family). My personal computers include 3 windows (10/11) machines and a TrueNAS server (and I'm looking to move to dual booting Linux Mint on my main machine in future). While I believe I have an decent amount of experience in spec’ing, building and troubleshooting computers, keep in mind I'm not an expert or a professional and I make mistakes.

 

Favourite Games of all time: World of Tanks, Runescape, Subnautica, Metroid (Fusion and Dread), Spyro: Year of the Dragon (Original and Reignited Trilogy), Crash Bash, Mario Kart Wii

 

Main PC: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/will0hlep/saved/NByp3C

 

Secondary PC: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/will0hlep/saved/cc9K7P

 

TrueNAS Server: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/will0hlep/saved/m37w3C

 

Laptop: 13.4" ASUS GZ301ZE ROG Flow Z13, WUXGA 120Hz, i9 12900H, 16GB DDR5, 1TB NVMe SSD, 4GB RTX 3050 Ti, TB4, Win11 Home, Used with: 2*ThinkPad Universal Thunderbolt 4 Dock, Logitech G603, Logitech G502 Hero, Logitech K120, Logitech G915 TKL, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, Logitech G PRO X Gaming-Headset (with Blue Icepop in Black), {specs to be updated: two monitors}

 

Other: LTT Screwdriver, LTT Stubby Screwdriver, IFIXIT Pro Tech Toolkit, Playstation 1 SCPH-102, Playstation 2 SCPH-30003, Gameboy Micro Silver OXY-001, Nintendo Wii U WUP-001(03), Playstation 4 CUH-1116A, Nintendo Switch OLED HEG-001, Yamaha RX-A4A Black AV Receiver, Monitor Audio Radius (4*90s, 1*200s, 2*270s, 1*380s), TP-Link TL-SG105-M2, Netgear GS308, IPhone 14 Pro Max 128GB Space Black, Secretlab TITAN Evo (Black SoftWeave Plus Fabric), 2*CyberPower BR1200ELCD-UK BRICs Series, Samsung 40" ES6800 Series 6 SMART 3D FHD LED TV, UGREEN USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure, SABRENT 3.5" SATA drive docking station

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1 hour ago, ayocaptainjack said:

Budget (including currency): 500 euros

Country: the Netherlands

I have drawn out my current situation in the diagram attached. Recently I bought the new Mac mini as a home server, and to fiddle around with. I also have a work laptop and my own (gaming) pc. I would love to be able to switch between my three workstations with just one button click. Since my current usb hub can only switch between two computers, I have to manually replug the cables every time I want to work with my Mac mini. I'd love a solution where I can switch all my peripherals (keyboard usb, mouse usb, ethernet, external hard drives, etc.) between all three computers. I'm also looking for a KVM switch that can handle 3 computers and two monitors. I wouldn't mind nesting two "dual monitor two pc" kvm switches. But all the different outputs from my workstations make it that I haven't been able to find a kvm switch that handles my flow. Could you help me find a workable solution, without spending way more than 500 euros?

 

DD8A2610-7433-4AFB-9F64-1BFACC0204EE.png

https://www.tesmart.com

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