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usb v. ps2 keyboards?

S

superfob7

Member
what's the difference between usb and ps2 connections? i get the feeling usb is better, but how much better can it be?

there's no fancy buttons like an internet/cd/volume/mail/sleep button on the keyboard, but it has a usb connection...

(microsoft natural elite)
 
well i don't think the keyboard needs all that bandwidth so just get the keyboard you like the best and don't pay attention to the connection.


Jim
 
USB I think only works in Windows, so you won't be able to use it in DOS programs, or in the windows command-prompt, although I could be wrong.
 
I'd stick with PS/2 for mice and Keyboards. it's just cause USB is unuseable if the driver isn't loaded (like in Windows Safe mode). No performance increase will be noticed either. what you might see, is a few USB ports on your keyboard for other peripherals.
 
hehe, then you're screwed! actually, when you're installing, I wouldn't be surprised if it had some sort of minimal USB support. after all, MS wouldn't screw themselves over that bad... would they?
 
USB keyboards usually come with an additional PS/2 connector so that you have support in dos/safe mode. USB mice are a whole other story though, but they sure feel smoother than PS2 mice.
 
USB is a CPU dependant interface (like a WinModem) if you use a USB keyboard you're just wasting CPU power (only ~2% on a 500mhz CPU but still a waste). WTF do you need a USB connection on a keyboard for, it's not like it takes advantage of any of USBs bandwidth.

Thorin
 
Well beside the obvious bandwidth advantages, USB also has another advantage, and that is using a single IRQ for all the devices. So if you could get multiple USB devices, than it'll probably be worth it, because instead of using separate IRQs, it'll all just use one IRQ designated by the USB Hub.

Heifetz
 
another advantage to usb is that it is hot swappable; so if you have a few machines lying around cracking all you need is 1 mouse and 1 keyboard for any access you need to those machines.
 
I think the neatest thing about going with a USB keyboard is that it allows you to run more than one keyboard at once.

Granted most people have no clue what two keyboards are good for... I find that it is an essential must though for playing split screen two player arcade games (Need for Speed 4 comes to mind) with a friend on a single computer. With a single keyboard you can only press a few buttons at once before you start getting problems.

Currently I have a my MS Elite 1.0 hooked up to USB and a generic PS2 KBD hooked up to the PS2 port. BTW, the USB KBD works fine in in dos/bios/before bootup/etc. so long as your bios supports it. My ASUS K7V does... My old FIC PA2013 didn't (or at least I didn't figure out how to).
 
USB is usually 'better', but as far as keyboards go, older BIOSes have issues with USB keyboards 'going dead' after the system goes into standby mode (you have to re-plug it in to revive it) and many times USB keyboards will not allow you into BIOS setup by hitting DELETE (or another key) because the BIOS doesn't recognize the keyboard until later.
 
Speaking of keyboards and USB ports, anyone using the Microsoft Natural Pro USB keyboard? I love mine and bought it due to the 2 USB ports on the back of it...nice to hook my mouse and wingam force to the back and keep all the wires to one side...

Anyway, I can't seem to get them to work, although I admit I only tried for about 2 minutes and gave up =) Also, the speedkey.exe that loads in startup causes that annoying one beep and a critical stop, yet they work fine....driver glitch?
 
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