The Linear Canvas

I always use a Keyboard Video Mouse (KVM) switch because I have two computers at my desk and want to switch conveniently from one to the other. I have been using an older PS/2 style KVM. With all of the USB peripherals that I have, I thought it was time to switch to a USB KVM and shut off the PS/2 ports on my computer. I was also having trouble with the new multimedia keys on my keyboard being recognized through the USB to PS/2 adaptor that came with it.

What I found were two types of USB KVM’s. In both cases the video is still on a standard VGA cable. One type is a PS/2 to USB converter KVM. It accepts older peripherals using PS/2 connectors and converts them usually to two USB cables, for two computers. Nothing wrong with that, but it does not fill a need for me. They are usually the cheapest USB KVM style, but I am not sure I get why in that case you would want to not use the built in PS/2 ports? A cheaper PS/2 KVM would fill that need I would think.

The second type is the USB in-USB out type. That’s what I wanted and did find several models and at a fairly high price, compared to PS/2 KVM’s. I did find two KVM’s that were priced in a range I felt I could afford.

The Belkin F1DK102U is a sorry excuse for a KVM and should be avoided at all cost unless absolutely necessary. This KVM is just pure trouble. It loses contact with the connected computers for no reason. It seems that it just stops phoning home and you get stuck on one computer or the other. It is mainly a software-based unit that actually can be manually controlled. The sense in that is confusing. When it did work there was a noticeable lag between the time you could see the other computer and when you could use the mouse or keyboard on it. The documentation is bad and the web support is little help for such a bad product. I usually like Belkin products. This is not one of them.

I returned the Belkin and bought a slightly higher priced IOGEAR GCS632U. This is what a KVM should be. It is almost transparent to use. There is an audio connector that doesn’t seem to work, but I am not worried about that. It does what I want, switch between two computers. Right out the box it worked with no software to install. I contacted tech support about the audio connector, but received no follow up. Still, I am happy with this KVM. It works.

I believe that I have noticed a performance increase in my system that occurred when I turned off the PS/2 ports. I had some video problems when I played Doom 3. As I rotated, the scenery didn’t seem to stay synchronized with my turning. I assume something was in need of an unused IRQ and might have moved when I freed up the one used by the PS/2 ports. It is much better now.