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USB KVMs Compared

Posted by timothy on from the when-cpus-outnumber-screens dept.

EconolineCrush writes "KVM switches have always been a great way to control multiple machines, and now they're coming with all sorts of cool USB peripheral sharing and audio switching functionality. The Tech Report has a compared a couple of the newest KVM switches from Belkin and IOGear that're worth a look if VNC just doesn't do it for you."

3 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Re:USB? What about the UXGA? by decaying · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Perhaps a read of the article is needed?

    quote :

    Even at 1600x1200x32 at 75Hz (the best my monitor can do), I didn't see any ghosting or degradation in video quality with the SOHO OmniView USB/Audio.
    and
    IOGear's VGA cable is thinner than the ones we had from Belkin, which gave me some initial reservations about video signal quality, but I couldn't discern any difference in signal quality at 1600x1200x32 at 75Hz.
    --
    ----- One piece short of Legoland
  2. Value of audio switching.... by Perianwyr+Stormcrow · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you only have two or three machines that all need audio, it's probably a better idea to either buy a small mixer board (the slightly expensive or skill-required choice) or run them all through one another (the cheapass choice.) If you have two machines there's really no reason not to do this, unless you plan on turning one off occasionally while using the other- but if you're a KVM kinda guy chances are you leave the damn things on eternally. If they're close enough to one another and you don't use cables that are too long or loop around other things- one could use a 8 inch mini cable to connect a pair of towers sitting next to one another- you won't have any signal problems.

    The clear choice seems the IOGear device- it comes with cables, has OSD, and does not hail from the nauseating Brushed Metal Plastic Alien Bubbles school of design.

    --

    What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey

  3. Re:I have never really liked USB for certain thing by mccalli · · Score: 4, Insightful
    My logic has always said, why use up 3 of my computer's 4 USB ports on something that I already have a plug for anyway. Why let the others go to waste?

    No reason - in your case don't switch. But future PC designs probably won't have the PS/2 port, so if you're buying new keyboards and mice then it makes sense to buy USB variants.

    At the moment, connectors are simply a mess. Just think of the number of different types on a typical, well-equipped PC:

    • PS/2
    • USB (sometimes split into 1.1 and 2.0)
    • Firewire
    • Serial
    • Parallel
    • RCA sockets
    • MPU-401 compatible (gameport to most, MIDI port to me
    • S/PDIF
    • VGA
    • RJ-45
    • RJ-11 for modem
    Don't now about DVI - does it take a different connected to VGA? If so, add DVI to that lot. Gives you eleven (twelve including DVI) different connecters excluding the power cable, and we haven't started on the internal mess yet.

    On the whole, standardising on the smallest number of connectors possible is a good thing. I'd personally like to see USB die as well and everything go firewire (and no, I'm not on a Mac), but that's a pipe-dream that isn't going to happen.

    Cheers,
    Ian