kvm under 300$ suggestions please.

maze

Hi there,

I have two computers working simoultaneously at home. Basically because when I am working with one I can leave the other to render, besides other stuff that improve speed between heavy tasks (as said rendering, sim, cache etc...)

So I bought this little kvm switch called trendnet k207 (the cheapest one! ha) Its actually pretty limited in what it offers, but still I find it useful
(it lacks dvi and hdmi and my video cards does not support vga unfortunately)

So I am using it only for the mouse and the keyboard. Now the problem is that the switch will randomly stop working and windows will pop up a message saying that the device is not recognized!!

At first I thought this was a one time thing, but it happens randomly every 3 hours or so... to a point where I have o unplug the cables and plug them to the pc I want to use in order to use it, which becomes annoying and time consuming.

So I am hoping some of you could help me a bit, and maybe recommend me one that is worth buying without going crazy in price! (its not like buying a kvm switch is a high priority in life! but still...)

ideally (but not a must) dual dvi and/or hdmi, keyboard and mouse, being the last two the ones I care for the most.

Thanks in advanced
cheers

Internet Friend

Does your monitor have multiple inputs? Because a solution I've used in the past is to attach different systems to different monitor inputs and use Synergy to share input devices across the network. Even if it's a less than ideal setup, the software is free and cables are cheap. Whether it's feasible or not depends on your specific setup.

I honestly don't know much about network rendering, but depending on what you are doing on the second computer connecting to it via remote desktop could be another free solution.

Angry Beaver

I experimented with KVM switches and it mostly boiled down to "The more mechanical it was the better it was"

So many issues with high end KVMs and their software to detect monitors and shit. Best one I ever found had a manual break in the cable then used a big old physical switch to snap between which outputs the cables attached to. Worked like a f-ing dream, shame it was only for VGA monitors

maze

hey got it working! thanks internet friend, I downloaded synergy as you suggested and it
surprise me how good it works. Only drawback, and a big one was that the wacom support is really bad. But that put me on the right track and I found another app called "input direct" also free. Really easy to install and it supports wacom!

I am really happy for this, thanks again. It ll be ok for the time being at least.
(ideally Ill like to switch dual monitors content between pc's) But for being free and that easy to install I wont mind having each monitor to a different pc.

@angry beaver, yes surely a hardware solution might be the best. But looking around the "good" ones are too expensive.
Like this one:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817399097
but as I said waay too much...$$

m4dcow

Like you mention, I don't see a cheap hardware option for wacom etc.. but you can always go the remote desktop route to render stuff, and continue working on the main machine and call it a day.