Review on I-OGEAR 2-Port Cinema 4K DisplayPort KVM Switch with Complete Cable Set (GCS62DP) by Calvin Booker

For IOGear GCS62DP: Partly because other switches are horribly bad, this switch is actually very good. This switch works well if you have 2 cheap PCs, a regular mouse and keyboard with a fancy 4K monitor. Unfortunately, I switch back and forth between my Lenovo ThinkPad for work and my personal gaming PC. The switch is powered via USB 2.0, which isn't enough for my Razor keyboard, but is fine for the Logitech G700s wireless mouse. I tested the universal wireless keyboard and the switch worked perfectly with this keyboard and the same Logitech mouse. I think as long as you have a basic keyboard/mouse with no LEDs or special features, KVM will work. But to use my existing keyboard, I had to buy a separate powered USB hub and run everything through it - the hub connects to the KVM mouse port. FYI, when my Razor keyboard was connected to the KVM switch, the numlock light either stayed on or off but didn't change, keys worked sometimes, mouse didn't work - just moved a little horizontally. These are symptoms of "insufficient power supply" that a self-powered hub can fix. I chose the "Display Port" KVM switch because I have an ultra-wide monitor and my laptop requires either HDMI or DP to use the 2560 x 1080 resolution. This is where the KVM and the laptop start behaving strangely. I couldn't boot up and couldn't get the display (no picture, just flickering). But when I opened the lid of the laptop and logged in, the monitor came to life and worked normally. I think it's partly due to the BIOS-type login screen before Windows starts - a sort of DOS screen - so I've given up opening the laptop to login and then closing the lid while continuing to look into it Windows operating system boots. (When I connected the laptop directly to the monitor I got a perfect picture and was able to login normally but not through the KVM switch). IOGear support suggested a shorter cable, which I didn't have on hand. BUT THEN I connected the second monitor directly to the laptop via DVI. Suddenly the main widescreen monitor running over KVM started fine but the second monitor didn't actually show anything, it wasn't even recognized by the laptop so I couldn't run two monitors. (Dual monitors work fine without the switch, but not with it). This means that I can only log in with my main monitor (without opening the laptop lid) if I leave a spare monitor connected that is off. Or hopefully this shorter cable idea would have worked. Some things just can't be explained. games, forget it As long as the display has the correct resolution and MHz, there are awkward lags. I think it's mouse lag and not video lag, but I'm not sure. (Yes, mouse emulation is disabled) It feels like the mouse signals can't keep up with the mouse. When I connect the mouse directly to the PC, the game's response improves, but it's still not as it should be, so maybe everything has some lag. As a result, I have to constantly adapt while playing. So games are a disaster. I ended up getting the IOGear switch to work, but it's no good for gaming, can't run an LED keyboard or anything else that draws. lots of power, the functionality of the laptop was quirky at best. This KVM switch has good features that are often found in gaming PCs, but its performance is too low for gaming. And it's one of the best KVM switches in the range, which I would call "worth the price". Welcome to the world of KVM switches where sometimes it gets 3 stars when it works! IO Gear's customer support was excellent. Nice knowledgeable people who taught me a lot about this product - acknowledging the flaws I've found with KVM switches in general and explaining why. I dream of one day having an affordable gaming KVM switch (that works with my fancy laptop). In the meantime, this particular KVM switch should be returned.