The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition

My KVM is not an issue as I have more than one monitor, and my secondary system is passively used so rarely needs more than one.

 

Perhaps if more people said no to their asking price, they'd drop it! While I would pay top dollar for a 30", I would love to see the price drop

 

Really most KVM's I've seen can not handle that high of resolution, they ALL are limited and I've worked with most out there especially business switches. So like I said I'm not aware of even a business KVM that can handle that although I haven't KVM searched for a year or so.

@Kevin,
They would lose money as it is very expensive to make a flat panel of that density & size that will be close to perfect, not many pixel issues. Maybe down the road that will change, most probably but it always takes time with new technology.

 

Not saying mine can handle the resolution, I'm saying more than one monitor allows me to plug a 2560 x 1600 monitor directly into the DVI and the KVM into a smaller monitor. Multi monitor is dead useful, takes up so much space though.

 

That makes sense, I guess I wasn't following you...

 

Yes, multi monitor definitely consumes some space. I only have a 17" secondary. But it does get in the way LOL! It comes in quite handy for the Photoshop toolbar(and layers pallet, history window, etc)! Fact of the matter is, it's small(but not too small) form factor and resolution is perfect

 

No worries. My only regret is the lack of HDMI audio which would be fantastic for using my TV. It's rather dated.

 

That's actually what I'm going to do for mom now that I have her setup with a dual monitor arm, her ViewSonic 20" is ready to retire so I'll either get another ASUS which has HDMI & speakers, won't need a 3.5mm TRS cable no more or I'll get a flat panel TV so that she can just use the DirecTV remote for both and doesn't have to screw around.

@Kevin,
It's not bad with a dual monitor arm it really frees up desk space and you can always move the monitors out of the way if you need too.

 

I can still do HDMI audio to my TV directly with the video card but for some reason the KVM simply doesn't support it.

 

So you have a HDMI KVM? I thought I had a rare beast with a DVI-I KVM, I wasn't aware that there were HDMI KVM's now. Where did you get your KVM and who makes it? Does it have at least 4 ports?

 

Most if not all the HDMI KVM's Ive seen are nothing more than DVI to HDMI adapters plugged into the switch.

IOGear does make some discreet HDMI to HDMI KVMS though.

 

http://www.aten-usa.com/images/uplo...iagram/CM0264-Desktop-KVM-Switches-dg-org.gif

Can't find the page for it but the pic shows up on the site in google image search. Has been very solid and reliable.

 

Like I said I haven't searched for KVM's for some time now but you know that some video cards, mostly old ones and possibly even this IOGear switch do not pass audio across the HDMI port. Although I would think this switch does since it supports Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio. This switch is identical to my DVI 4-Port switch with exception to HDMI of course.

]IOGEARS GCS1794 4-Port HD Multimedia[/b]

I may have to get this puppy but I wish the max resolution was higher than 1920x1200 which is the same as what I have now.

 

The reason for KVMs not supporting 2560x1600 is normally just them not having dual link DVI connectors. Such KVMs have been around for a long time, I bought one a few years ago, I wasn't very impressed with it as a product as it had lots of faults, but nonetheless it did switch video at 2560x1600.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817802230

That's a lot more than I paid for mine though, I paid I think £87 (about $115 before tax).

 

It's nice to see that there are some choices now. I bought the first DVI capable KVMP which was around 6 years ago. I got Avocent to replace mine a couple of years ago as it was acting up and even at that time there wasn't much for me to choose from and still no other DVI switches let alone dual-link units. I'm not impressed with Aten otherwise their 4-Port version of what you posted Sam looks pretty nice and it Cascades to 3 levels.

They still sell my unit at around the same price, actually I got mine for $183.
Avocent 4SVDVI10-001 SwitchView DVI 4-port KVM Switch

I would like to have this one from Avocent but it is pricey.
Avocent SC8PDV-001 SwitchView SC8 DVI KVM Switch

Or I could go with the good old OmniView Pro switch that I've used this type the most.
BELKIN F1DN104D DVI-D Secure 4-Port KVM Switch

Good to know there are choices now!
Stevo

 

Hi Folks,

The move is about 98% finished, and I'm exhausted! The internet turned out to be a big PITA! AT&T was set to turn on our phone last Thursday, but only turned it off at the old address! We wound up waiting until the 21st, and they got it in and working for about 1/2 hour and then a huge tall truck came down the street and ripped out all the wires! It finally just got switched on at 8:30 PDT, but we still have some power related problems, as well.

BTW! The new Sceptre 40" HD TV is awesome! Not a single bad pixel! I'll probably get everything set up by the weekend. I still have a few speaker positioning problems to solve, with my surround, but I'll get it done.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Wow Russ. That sort of thing is supposed to happen to me, not you! I suppose things could be worse for me though...

 

Fortunately dead pixels seem to be a thing of the past now, no matter what you buy.
Took long enough! lol

 

I certainly hope so. THere's no way I'm returning my Dell for a bad SD port though. It'd be my luck something else would happen. Plus I'd have to pay for the shipping. Screw that. My SD/USB reader does just fine

 

Sam,

We've had the TV since the 14th. We just didn't get it installed until the power was turned on the following week. The internet was a week late too! That's why I haven't been on line. The Power problem turned out to be a bad 20A Circuit Breaker.

Best Regards,
Russ