passbe Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Greetings to the hak5 community. Ive been watching since episode 1, keep up the good work. I have a problem that possibly requires a kvm switch. I have two computers, my development pc running windows xp, and my server running ubuntu. I am soon to purchase two 22" lcd screens to run as dual screens on either pc. However id like to implement a kvm switch allowing me to use the dual screens for both computers. The kvm switch would have to support the following features. - 2 Port - Dual Screens (DVI) - USB for Keyboard and Mouse - Manual Switch (Hot keys seem to interfere with gaming) I have googled kvm switchs to death, have found very few that support dual screen / dvi / usb. Also, will i get lag in a gaming situation ? Either video, keyboard or mouse. (i dont mind lag when switching between computers) Any suggestions? im considering using two kvm switch's soon. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothCriminal Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Sorry cant help you with the switch problem, but I do have a funny story regarding KVM switches. In a few of our computer labs we implement KVM switches so that some of the computers can run off the school network, and some can run off their own internalized LAN for that room. We have them on a separate LAN so that they can do there own computer class stuff without interfering with the school network. Well the other day, one of my teachers inadvertently hacked the school network. He plugged the wrong network cable into the KVM switch, and hooked up a rogue server (one that was meant to be used for the internalized LAN) to the school's network. Instantly he had compromised a network with over 700 nodes. The server was dishing out DHCP addresses and screwing with the securities and directories. The network people were pretty pissed with the teacher. Now to prevent this from happening again the Ethernet cable is now color coded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/100165 I have that KVM switch, it works, is powered by PS2, not much more to say. Too bad it doesn't support either DVI or dual DVI :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deveant Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 hmm DVI KVM switches are rather expensive, the best DVI KVM ive found is the Adder SmartView MultiScreen, though it fetches for about $2k... http://www.kvm-switches-online.com/svms4dvi-quad.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passbe Posted May 19, 2007 Author Share Posted May 19, 2007 hmm thats why im wondering is there just a dvi switch ? and i could by two of them for the dual screens. Then id have to worry about the keyboard and mouse, i could just have the two on my desk, or maybe i could pick up a separate switch for that. Thanks for the replies unfortunately neither really are any good (ie too expensive :P) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Back when I was looking at the possibility of a KVM switch at home (admittedly, YEARS ago) I was primarily disappointed with the refresh rate they were able to cope with. It was damn near impossible to get 1600x1200@60Hz. When you're watching a CRT monitor, and you get a piercing headache from watching a flickering screen, stuff like that doesn't bode well. Of course, with an LCD screen that particular problem is gone, but I'd still wonder if the switch can push the resolution you prefer (which you didn't specify, but at 22" I expect it to be rather high). I think your most cost-effective approach is to get 2 KVM switches, where one is dedicated to switching only the secondary monitor. Only problem with that approach is that you normally control the switch via the attached keyboard, and that second one won't have one attached (or rather, shouldn't need one). It's a bit of a hassle, really. Wouldn't VNC be able to help a bit with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari6502 Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Most monitors now have 2 inputs. Either 1 DVI and one VGA, or 2 DVI's. Since your only using 2 computers, you could simply switch between them from the monitors themselves. You'll just have to have 2 keyboards and mice, obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passbe Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 Unfortunately vnc just doesn't cut it. I was thinking about buying monitors that supported 2 x inputs (would have to be 2 x dvi). I did find a switch however that supported everything i needed, huge res, lag a bit questionable. http://www.linkskey.com/detail.php?Product...e=LDV-DM702AUSK ill have to see, thanks for you suggestions guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natural_orange Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 you could use one vga and one dvi most cards accept a dvi > vga adapter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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