KVM Switch

[RitualOfTheTrout]

Im looking into getting one of those KMV swithces but Im not sure exactly what to look for, I only want to switch between 2 pcs sharing the keyboard monitor and mouse no usb or audio is neccessary. I have found these two but not sure which is better.

First Choice

Second Choice

The one at bestbuy has one advantage... I have a gift card I got for xmas so technically it would be free if I decide to use it for that.

 

[slinga]

I use a similar miniview at work and have nothing but good things to say about it. The keyboard switching is a nice feature, make sure you use it. I hate best buy so don't buy it from there, shop around for a better price.

 

[schi0249]

Be carfeul when buying KVM'x with built in cables. I bouight 1 and it was defective. Exchanged it for a second and that one never worked very well. I bomplained and they upgraded it for free.

 

[Malakai]

I was going to use one of these for linux and windows PCs, but I decided against it, for no particular reason. I have heard that sometimes when switching from one computer to the next, on some computers, the mouse will not be recognized.

Also, a friend of mine has one that has the sound as well, and it reproduces the sound very badly (even though the sound card was fine). You could probably get one cheaper online, but you need to buy it in a place that you could return it incase it has a problem with one of your computers.

 

[it290]

I don't see any problem with the Linux end of things, but if the switch doesn't work correctly, it could cause a problem with some Windows installations.... I don't think it would matter if you boot each machine with the switch set to that machine, though. The reason I say that is because I have an X-Arcade (plugs into the PS/2 port on my Windows machine), and if I unplug it and then turn the machine on, Windows won't recognize it until I 'reinstall the driver'. Linux doesn't do anything like that.. if you tell it there's a PS/2 keyboard plugged in, it will assume there is. If you use a USB mouse/keyboard, though, you shouldn't have problems regardless.