In my home office, I run a dozen desktops and half a dozen laptops. On them, I run multiple Linux distros; Windows 10 and 11; Chrome OS; and macOS. To keep them from overrunning my place, I use keyboard, video monitor, and mice (KVM) switches.
You probably don’t have my hardware requirements, but even if you just have a laptop and a desktop and you’d like to switch between them with a single keyboard, display, and mouse, a simple KVM may be just what you need. And, if your computers can push out 4K video, you want IOGear‘s latest 2-Port 4K KVM Switch, the GCS92HU.
What is a KVM?
A KVM enables you to switch between two or more computers, like your home desktop and a work laptop, with the mere touch of a button. You don’t need to jump between two very different displays; a pair of quite dissimilar keyboards; or a scratch pad and a mouse.
If you’re constantly jumping from one computer to another, KVMs are very handy. I’ve been using them for decades now. They used to be extremely expensive. I once had an eight-PC switch that cost me over two grand. Today, in no small part thanks to IOGear, high-quality two to four computing device switches are available for a few hundred dollars or less.
Take an inexpensive KVM, like IOGear’s newest 2-Port 4K KVM Switch. For $99, you can control and switch between two DisplayPort computers from one USB keyboard, mouse, and DisplayPort monitor. That means you can use it with any monitor that supports DisplayPort 1.1, HDMI, and HDCP 2.2 video protocols. With it you can run videos all the way up to 4K DCI, that is 4096×2160 at 60Hz. It displayed flawlessly on my LG 27UL850-W 27-inch UHD monitors.
This KVM also doesn’t care whether I’m running Windows, Mac, or Linux. I can jump from Windows 11 to Linux Mint 20.3 and back again with no trouble at all. It’s not all work though. You can also use it to play Xbox or PS4/5.
Audio isn’t a problem either. The KVM switch supports both digital, via HDMI, and analog 2.1 audio via 3.5 mm audio ports.
It also worked without a moment’s hesitation with my keyboards. Mostly, I used my USB-connected Logitech G513 RGB Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. Just out of curiosity, though, I also tried it with my cherished 2004 Creative Vision Technologies’ Avant Stellar. To my joy, I found a PS/2 to USB adapter enabled this almost 20-year-old keyboard to work just fine with all my modern gear.
The GCS92HU also supports USB hot-plugging with its pair of USB 2.0 ports. In other words, you can switch out. You can also use these ports with a USB Hub for USB peripheral sharing. You also can use one USB port for both the keyboard and mouse.
Setting it up is trivial. You just plug its cables into your devices and your keyboard, video monitor, and mouse cables into it, and you’re done.
It comes with a three-year warranty. Honestly, though, I have IOGear KVMs that are more than a decade old and they’ve never given me a lick of trouble.
At $99, IOgear’s 2-Port 4K KVM Switch, the GCS92HU, is worth every penny.
