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BrandIOGEAR
Item Height
16.5 centimetres
Item Width7.6 centimetres
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Product Description
W/Built-in Bonded Cable design
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
26 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Good KVM for the money... just one caution...
30 Sep 2009
This KVM works well. It's simple and easy to set up. To address some of the other reviews on this product, I've had no issues waking up my PCs out of standby and it hasn't yet locked up on me. Nor have I found any issues with regards to video. Note that there is no audio support and no switching supported via key presses (you have to press the button on the unit itself). That said, it's a cheap, reliable product that does its job well.
One caution though... take note that this product uses only 1 USB plug for each computer that it's hooked up with. Thus, it serves as a type of 2-port hub. This is very convenient in one sense, as it doesn't hog up your available USB ports. You just have to be sure that the port has enough power for the switch (which does light up when your computer is on), your keyboard, and the mouse. I have a Logitech Illuminated Keyboard and an iGesture Touchpad that I used with this device and I had a lot of issues initially with the Touchpad not being recognized or only working for a brief interval. What I discovered was that the power provided by my PC's USB port was not enough for both devices. If I disabled the lighting on my keyboard, both devices worked great... once I turn up the lighting, the touchpad became erratic and eventually stopped working. I was able to resolve the issue by piping the USB plug through a powered hub (thus ensuring there was maximum power going through the single plug) and the problem went away. The point being, that while this device is convenient b/c of it only requires 1 USB plug and no external power, just take note that this might not work directly if you have some sophisticated equipment.
IOGear also has a similar looking KVM product with a remote switch that I recently purchased as well (see IOGear GCS22U 2-Port USB KVM Switch). That product DOES have two separate USB plugs and thus, is not susceptible to the same issue. However, the remote is the only way to switch the connections and the nature of how that remote is connected scares me somewhat as it can be easily smashed or the cable can be easily frayed or cut. However, if the remote switch is important or you'd prefer dedicated plugs for both the keyboard and mouse to each PC, then that would be the better choice instead of the product reviewed here.
Bottom line, for under $20, it's a worthwhile investment if your needs are simplistic.
One caution though... take note that this product uses only 1 USB plug for each computer that it's hooked up with. Thus, it serves as a type of 2-port hub. This is very convenient in one sense, as it doesn't hog up your available USB ports. You just have to be sure that the port has enough power for the switch (which does light up when your computer is on), your keyboard, and the mouse. I have a Logitech Illuminated Keyboard and an iGesture Touchpad that I used with this device and I had a lot of issues initially with the Touchpad not being recognized or only working for a brief interval. What I discovered was that the power provided by my PC's USB port was not enough for both devices. If I disabled the lighting on my keyboard, both devices worked great... once I turn up the lighting, the touchpad became erratic and eventually stopped working. I was able to resolve the issue by piping the USB plug through a powered hub (thus ensuring there was maximum power going through the single plug) and the problem went away. The point being, that while this device is convenient b/c of it only requires 1 USB plug and no external power, just take note that this might not work directly if you have some sophisticated equipment.
IOGear also has a similar looking KVM product with a remote switch that I recently purchased as well (see IOGear GCS22U 2-Port USB KVM Switch). That product DOES have two separate USB plugs and thus, is not susceptible to the same issue. However, the remote is the only way to switch the connections and the nature of how that remote is connected scares me somewhat as it can be easily smashed or the cable can be easily frayed or cut. However, if the remote switch is important or you'd prefer dedicated plugs for both the keyboard and mouse to each PC, then that would be the better choice instead of the product reviewed here.
Bottom line, for under $20, it's a worthwhile investment if your needs are simplistic.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
What good is a KVM that locks up?
8 April 2008
We bought this KVM to switch between two Dell PCs, one Optiplex GX620 and the other an older Optiplex model number unknown. It seemed like exactly what we needed, a nice, simple switch with a big button and no special key sequences required to switch between two machines that share a single monitor, USB keyboard and USB mouse.
Unfortunately it doesn't work reliably. Sure, it will switch a few times, maybe even a dozen, before locking up but for us it ALWAYS locked up eventually. When it does the keyboard and mouse are left in an unpowered state leaving you only one option - a hard reset of the computer. Removing and replacing the cable to force a USB enumeration does not help. Sometimes even the video goes dead.
To IOGear's credit their tech support is easy to reach and answered the phone quickly. The people there seemed knowledgeable about their products but they had no suggestions that could resolve the KVM problems and finally suggested that we return it for a refund. Unfortunately even the best support can't make a bad product work.
Unfortunately it doesn't work reliably. Sure, it will switch a few times, maybe even a dozen, before locking up but for us it ALWAYS locked up eventually. When it does the keyboard and mouse are left in an unpowered state leaving you only one option - a hard reset of the computer. Removing and replacing the cable to force a USB enumeration does not help. Sometimes even the video goes dead.
To IOGear's credit their tech support is easy to reach and answered the phone quickly. The people there seemed knowledgeable about their products but they had no suggestions that could resolve the KVM problems and finally suggested that we return it for a refund. Unfortunately even the best support can't make a bad product work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Combining mouse and keyboard into single ouput...
29 April 2010
As far as switching between 2 PCs are concerned, the product works.
However...
this model combines mouse and keyboard into single output plug -- I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Yes, it frees up an extra USB port on the PC. But in my experience, all the other USB ports on the PC are rendered unusable. I'm using a powered USB hub, a flash drive and a printer plugged separately into 3 open USB ports -- all were unrecognizable. After unplugging the KVM switch, they all work fine.
Note: the GCS42UW6 does not include audio port or remote switch, and no hot keys.
UPDATE: The IOGear 2 Port USB Cable KVM Switch with Audio and Mic GCS72U (Black) model costs slightly more but provides 2 separate USB output plugs for mouse and keyboard. Also includes a wired remote toggle switch. Currently using it at the office -- works better than the GCS42UW6, no conflicts among USB ports.
I also tried the TrendNet TK-209K TRENDnet 2-Port USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio (Includes 2x KVM Cables) TK-209K (Blue). This model combines the mouse, keyboard and vga output into a single output port (i.e. thru the vga port). The cable that plugs into this port is a Y-cable split into vga and a single USB (combining mouse and keyboard). But unlike the IOGear GCS42UW6, the other USB ports (with hub, flash drive and printer) on my PC seem to work fine.
However...
this model combines mouse and keyboard into single output plug -- I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Yes, it frees up an extra USB port on the PC. But in my experience, all the other USB ports on the PC are rendered unusable. I'm using a powered USB hub, a flash drive and a printer plugged separately into 3 open USB ports -- all were unrecognizable. After unplugging the KVM switch, they all work fine.
Note: the GCS42UW6 does not include audio port or remote switch, and no hot keys.
UPDATE: The IOGear 2 Port USB Cable KVM Switch with Audio and Mic GCS72U (Black) model costs slightly more but provides 2 separate USB output plugs for mouse and keyboard. Also includes a wired remote toggle switch. Currently using it at the office -- works better than the GCS42UW6, no conflicts among USB ports.
I also tried the TrendNet TK-209K TRENDnet 2-Port USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio (Includes 2x KVM Cables) TK-209K (Blue). This model combines the mouse, keyboard and vga output into a single output port (i.e. thru the vga port). The cable that plugs into this port is a Y-cable split into vga and a single USB (combining mouse and keyboard). But unlike the IOGear GCS42UW6, the other USB ports (with hub, flash drive and printer) on my PC seem to work fine.
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