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HOT! Setting your CRT or LCD to accept two PCs!

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<< and so why would u want to do this? >>



If your monitor supports it, it saves the cost of a KVM. I have a KDS VS-195; an old Mac (Quadra 610) is on the VGA input (can be unplugged quickly to go into other computers) while the homebrew Athlon box feeds the 5BNC input.

You need separate keyboards and mice this way...but since PS/2 keyboards and mice don't work with Macs and ADB keyboards and mice don't work with x86 boxen, I'd need two of each anyway.
 
KVM switches have their drawbacks, too: they are expensive, they limit you to a set number of ports (2/4), most/all of them don't support absolutely all possible keyboard and mouse functions, they don't allow you to switch anything besides the KVM (one each of K&M), and most/all of them will hurt your video resolution to some degree. The latter may not seem to be an issue, as a good active circuitry KVM will quote a resolution of something like 1600X1200, but this might be at a limited refresh rate (typically 75 Hz), and in any case, 16X12 is going to be limiting for more and more people as video cards get more powerful (e.g., your Geforce 6 is going to be doing full antialiasing at a resolution of 20X15) and larger monitors become more commonplace. Passive video switchboxes, like the $14 model mentioned above, are pretty crappy, even at a resolution around 10X7.

My personal solution is to use A) a multi-port passive USB switchbox (these cost $20 for a 4-port model from a number of vendors) and B) a pair of monitors (19" in my case) that can be connected to a 6' shielded/high-resolution VGA extension cable that comes out of each of 4 computers. In other words, to switch between computers, I press the button on the USB switchbox (connected to a USB hub, which my input peripherals connect to) and then hook up the VGA extension cable (from the computer) to the applicable monitor's VGA cable.

The advantages of this setup include the following:

A) no limit on the number of computers or monitors I want to use; if I wanted to switch between 12 computers for some oddball reason, I could buy a couple more USB switchboxes
B) ability to direct a computer's output to my "main" or "secondary" monitor at will (one example: I can download a large file on one computer, then move its display to my secondary monitor while I begin a computer game on the main monitor using a separate computer)
C) ability to set up a "dual-view" setup so that the 2 monitors function as a larger single-screen
D) ability to switch multiple input peripherals, including joysticks, cameras, etc., even including multiple peripherals of the same type (e.g., I have a cordless Logitech optical mouse for web browsing while leaning back in my chair, and a corded Microsoft Intellimouse that I use for gaming)
E) low-cost
F) no need to limit the use of "elite" input peripherals for gaming; I don't have to worry about (for example) running a program like "PS2rate" that changes the polling rate of the PS2 port, and I don't have to worry about whether a mousewheel or 4th and 5th button will be supported by the KVM
G) no limit on the video resolution, at least that I can detect at a resolution at 1600X1200, and no limit on the refresh rate
H) ability to switch printers without worrying about networking them
I) I don't do this, but you could even switch your audio by using a USB audio card

I could go on, but you get the idea. The drawback is that it looks and feels less elegant than simply pressing a master button on a KVM switch, and it does take a few seconds to plug in/out the monitor's VGA cable to the VGA extension cables coming from the computers. If I was a system administrator switching between computers multiple times per hour, all day long, every day, I'd probably pay the bucks for a conventional KVM switch.

Hope that helps some other frugal Anandtecher. 🙂

Btw, they do make KVM switches that use USB connections, but they are expensive, they have the video resolution limitations discussed above, and they don't allow for the flexibilty of multiple monitors.

[Edit: Caution! Evil 666th post.]
 
See the problem is, i'd need 6 inputs, this is a great feature when you have a gigantic monitor and plenty of deskspace, but is impractical for monitors in the 17-19 inch range. Thanks but I think I'll keep my inexpensive montors (dual disp) and my KVMs...
-dc
 
the only problem with this, is that if you're at a dest, you wouldn't want two sets of keyboards and mice. i have a kvm switch, even though my planar 17.4 can do both
 
I have a setup with 2 computer connected to one monitor as well. Been doing this for a while. One is a file server, which I every so often do some administration stuff on and the other is my main workstation which I use daily. This switching back and forth is not the idle setup and can be a pain once in a while, but it serves its purpose. Not a hot deal, but nice to know if you didn't already (though you really should have figured it out, with some common knowledge).
 
This is a weird thread. It's like telling people that you can use your TV to watch from 2 sources (cable, VCR, etc...).
 
I use a MiniView USB KVM switch. Cost about $90 including usb kvm cables. Works awesome as my whole usb chain is switched from one computer to the other one with one button. I have a usb webcam, an hp printer, a dig camera, mp3 player, ms keyboard pro, scanner, and usb hub attached to it. XP takes a few seconds for it to hot plug all the devices but it sure is cool. USB is totally the way to go with kvm.
 
Couldn't you just get a KVM switch for a more eligant solution? The newer ones have very low video loss, and some even have a remote control (cool for server racks 🙂 ).
 
KVM switches don't degrade vidoe that much in all cases. I among others am very discerning about image quality loss and while I have seen it on some KVMs, I've noticed almost none on others. The linksys has good user reviews in this dept but I have yet to see it for myself.
 
Well, don't flame me, this "new" feature is good for me than everyone else I guess.

I have a DVI/Analog LCD, and KVM, a few computers. The KVM doesn't work well with my monitor, I don't know if it is because of the cable of the KVM, but the keyboard and mouse is fine, so now I don't have to buy another KVM, but use the monitor input as a switch, though only two inputs, better than nothing. 🙂
 
It's also kind of interesting to see the video output of two different video cards on the same monitor by just pushing the BNC or D-SUB button on the front of my monitor. I have a ATI Radion on one. and a GF3 on the other. Say I have both computers tuned in to this page, and switch back and forth. It's funny, because both images from these cards are different, but different in ways that are pleasing enough to say I like them both, and it would be hard to pick the one I like better. This is in 2D. The video card reviews we all read leave one HUGE factor out, and that's the appearance on different monitors. No two are the same exactly, even the same brand, year, lot number, etc. Now, even the techs at Nokia couldn't agree on if BNC is noticably different from D-SUB, but of course that is an issue. Nokia was nice enough to send me (yes I posted it) free BNC cables after a phone request. It has been interesting to read the debates about clairity differences between BNC and D-SUB, and now we have DVI to throw into the mix.
 

Hey Mani

That is a sweet price on a KVM.

Question: Does the Linksys beep when you switch monitors????

I did a lot of research and got a belkin E-Series.

About $67 including cables.

Got it because of the awesome specs, 2048x1536@85Hz

(creamfilled, if you can aford a rig to handle that then $67 ain't expensive!)

Video quality IS great: no video degradation at anything I can push my monitor at.

HOWEVER

I'm about ready to check that POS and get a new one as the BEEP everytime I switch computers (which I do a lot) is driving my wife crazy.

 
Hey trikster2, there's no beep that can't be defeated by a piece of scotch tape. Open that puppy up and put a tiny piece of tape over the hole on the top of the little "speaker". The speaker is likely a black plastic cylinder with a small hole at the top mounted directly on the circuit board .
 


<< This is a weird thread. It's like telling people that you can use your TV to watch from 2 sources (cable, VCR, etc...). >>



OMG! you're kidding right??? that's a hot deal that deserves it's own thread... !!!
rolleye.gif
 
What an idiot>> why post this!!!Anyone that has a monitor with both hook up already knows this. Stupid DEEEKKK

Well for those "SMART-ASS" ppl, apparently they don't know how to read!

Pls don't flame me.
 
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