KVM Switch / Home Office setup recommendations

Will

Will

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Hey all,

I'm trying to get my home office / gaming setup complete, and I'd like some recommendations for hardware setups / KVM switches to do this as painlessly as possible.

My three machines to switch between are:
  • Desktop Windows PC - (many available ports)
  • 2019 Macbook Pro (Intel Chip - 15 Inch) - (3 available USB C ports)
  • 2021 Macbook Pro (M1 Chip - 13 Inch) - (1 available USB C port)

Ideally I'd like to have 2x DisplayPort Monitors that support all three machines. The M1 Mac Pro natively only supports one external display, but I believe with some hardware display adapters it can be increased to a second external display.

For the Macbooks, I'll ideally be swapping them out from a laptop stand as these also need to be portable. The ideal setup would be a single USB C connector that could be plugged into either macbook, and supply power, two external displays, and keyboard/mouse setup.

The desktop PC - I care about latency more for the keyboard/mouse setup, so want to make sure the setup doesn't add any additional latency to input. Other than that, the desktop PC has a ton of spare ports available.

Appreciate any recommendations!
 
Just worked on this Wed. elsewhere and unfortunately the answer was a $600 switch. Hope a cheaper one is uncovered here, particularly if you don't need G/Sync or can substitute Free Sync.
 
Perhaps the GEN2 12-in-1 USB-C Docking Station with its own power supply is something to look at?

This USB-C Docking Station has driverless plug and play extended display support (4K 60Hz) to deliver an incredibly versatile connectivity solution. It also features 12 integrated ports for all your connected devices or peripherals, and you can connect to extended displays with the flexibility of 2 HDMI ports or 2 DisplayPorts that can be used interchangeably.

HyperDrive GEN2 12-in-1 USB-C Docking Station With Power
 
Sadly the two monitor KVM for L1 techs is out of stock.

Corday said:
particularly if you don't need G/Sync or can substitute Free Sync.
Click to expand...

I hadn't thought about this actually, but ideally whatever I get would support GSync. I think a DisplayPort KVM should support this hopefully...?
 
Tekno Venus said:
They do make other styles/configurations with different numbers of displays, ports etc.
Click to expand...

I'm looking through some of their others that are in stock. I know of Wendell, although haven't watch a huge amount of his content. I'll definitely consider them.
 
The Dell 452-BCYT D6000 Universal Dock might end up being part of the setup as well.

To get my M1 Mac to support an additional monitor, the dock needs to be either DisplayLink or SiliconMotion supported.

Macs > Universal Doc > KVM
 
Tekno Venus said:
That's a shame. Might be worth asking on the level1techs forum or pinging Wendell on twitter to see if he knows then they'll likely be back.
Click to expand...

Do you happen to know how the keyboard/mouse output works for this one?

I'm reading through and my understanding of the setup would be:

- 2x DisplayPort cables from each PC -> KVM
- Keyboard / Mouse -> KVM (2x USB B in my case)

Output:
- 2x DisplayPort cables -> Dual Monitors
- Keyboard/Mouse - ??

Do they both output via one USB to each machine?
 
Not sure what you mean by keyboard output?

The l1tech kvm has ports marked HID which are for keyboard/mouse. So connect to those, then they'll be made available to whichever computer is selected as the input.
 
Tekno Venus said:
Not sure what you mean by keyboard output?

The l1tech kvm has ports marked HID which are for keyboard/mouse. So connect to those, then they'll be made available to whichever computer is selected as the input.
Click to expand...

As in, what cable / output is the keyboard/mouse being passed back to the input computer?
 
Ahh right.

There's a USB B/C port (depending on config) that connects to each computer in addition to the display port connections. This cable will also handle passthrough for other usb devices
 
The level1techs KVM ended up coming back into stock, so that's the switch I went for in the end.

Got everything setup today, and seems to be working pretty well. Final setup is:

  • Macbooks -> Dell D6000 Universal Doc -> KVM switch
  • PC -> KVM switch
  • Keyboard and mouse -> KVM switch

Had to wait an extra day for some USB-B cables to arrive to use the keyboard and mouse.

Initial teething problems:
  • Dell D6000 doc requires DisplayLink drivers to be installed in order for the Display output to work. Overall working well though, as I now have power, display, and keyboard/mouse all connected via 1 USB-C connector from the dock.
  • Razer Huntsman V2 keyboard is a little picky on which KVM USB port I plug into - needs to be connected to one of the USB 3.2 ports, not a USB HID port.
  • My cable management has "room to improve". :-)

Overall it's working pretty well. I'm about to upgrade my monitors, so hopefully it stays that way once I have some new ones connected... :ROFLMAO:
 

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