Great Flexibility for a Home Office Setup
a busy professional, a gadget geek, a PC user, a tech geek
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NOV
23
2007
I finally decided I needed a KVM switch, and so I set about Googling just that. I found the StarTech StarView SV231USB KVM switch on Amazon.com for about $80. It had predominantly good reviews, with only a handful of reviewers giving it a thumbs down for poor monitor quality. I have a 22" LCD monitor, so I suspected that it might give me problems, but I decided to order it anyway, and hope for the best. I was pleasantly surprised.
About the StarView SV231USB KVM Switch
StarTech sells a number of KVM switches, but for basic home office use to switch only two computers, this one should suffice. It has monitor inputs, along with USB inputs for the mouse and keyboard. And it comes with two cables to hook up the switch to the two computers that you want to control. The switch supports a monitor resolution of 1920x1440. It retails for nearly $100 but Amazon is selling it for about $20 less.
Installing & Using the KVM Switch
I received my KVM switch late one evening and pulled it out of its packaging, intending to set it up the next morning. Everything looked so straightforward, however, that I decided to give it a go with my two computers. I started messing around with the installation, and with absolutely no real effort on my part, I had the KVM switch installed in less than ten minutes. Both computers, which I had shut off for installation, booted up perfectly and everything worked on the first try.
More importantly, my monitor had no issues with having a KVM switch installed between it and the two computers. I set my display to 1680 x 1050, which is really the highest resolution my eyes can support, and everything looked great. There was no noticeable degradation of quality on either computer, and suddenly my piddly little laptop had a great, wide monitor for use at home.
The only remaining annoyance was that each computer "dinged" everytime I switched between computers, as the hardware was released from the operating system, and subsequently "seen" on the computer I had switched to. A simple tweak in Windows on the sound preferences removed the OS "dings" for adding and removing hardware, and switching between the two computers became even more seamless.
Most importantly, my productivity in my home office has increased greatly, while the amount of clutter on my desk has decreased by half. I can easily switch between my home and office computers by simply pressing the "Select" button on the front of my StarView KVM switch, and I couldn't be happier.
Cat's Bottom Line
If you're looking for an easy to install and use KVM switch, look no further. This switch works great, but make certain that your monitor requirements aren't extremely fast or intensive. As a home user of primarily office and photo editing products on a 22" monitor, I find this KVM switch is perfect. I highly recommend it!
StarTech StarView 2 port USB KVM Switch (SV231USB) is recommended by Cat
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Search Amazon.com for StarTech StarView 2 port USB KVM Switch (SV231USB) prices |
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