Why do the DVI/USB KVM switches are much more expensive than their VGA/PS-2 cousins?

March 25, 2009 8:01 AM

Why do the DVI/USB KVM switches are much more expensive than their VGA/PS-2 cousins? Any suggestion for a good one with decent price?
posted by parttimeninja to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

they are more expensive for 2 reasons: more complicated parts, and they haven't been making them for the last decade or so. Okay, 3 reasons, there are less of them being made because of tools like Synergy and on a larger scale, out of channel console access like various Lights Out built into servers.

I don't have a good price recommendation, because of reason 3.
posted by jrishel at 8:14 AM on March 25, 2009

Because USB is a much more complex interface than PS/2 so there's more logic in there to control it. PS/2 is very simple. I dont think switching DVI is any more complex than switching VGA, but I might be wrong about that.
posted by damn dirty ape at 8:25 AM on March 25, 2009

Have you considered a software KVM as an alternative?
posted by SteveInMaine at 8:26 AM on March 25, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks guys for the responses. I can understand the more complexity of making a DVI/USB switch but it's not ten times more complex is it? It's not like DVI & USB is brand-new tech or something. I can easily find a good VGA/PS2 one for about $20 but the cheapest DVI/USB I can find is more than $100.

Anyhow, I looked at Synergy but not sure if it works with a dual-mon setup?
posted by parttimeninja at 8:49 AM on March 25, 2009

Economies of scale. PS2/VGA kvms have been made since forever. Theyre almost always on clearance on deal sites. I remember buying a 40 dollar one almost ten years ago. This is also why I keep a ps2 mouse and keyboard. It just saves me money in the kvm department. Not to mention the extra USB ports. My video cards are all DVI, but I use a VGA adapter.

Granted the cheap kvms are pretty junky and I would never use them on a server, but for home stuff theyre okay.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:01 AM on March 25, 2009

I've been through the rounds on these over the last 18 years and quite honestly - you get what you pay for. Buy a $20 unit and it will give you problems. $100 is not a bad price for a quality KVM.
posted by jkaczor at 9:13 AM on March 25, 2009

I don't have anything to add to the original question but I've had bad luck with a few of the newer DVI/USB KVMs.

>Anyhow, I looked at Synergy but not sure if it works with a dual-mon setup?
It does. This is tricky to explain but you have to set up the program to think the monitor you are switching to is in another direction than your extended desktop.
posted by asterisk at 9:45 AM on March 25, 2009

A very similar question came up on Ask Engadget recently.

From skimming the responses, the ones that support dual monitor can cost in the neighborhood of $500+.
posted by liquoredonlife at 9:53 AM on March 25, 2009

synergy treats your dual monitor setup on your main system as the 'desktop', so when you attach you next screen to a side, it goes to the extreme left (left of the left monitor) or extreme right (right of the right monitor) to map to the extended one. It's more complicated in words then if you just try it, setup is relativly simple. I had it working great with 2 laptops and a desktop with dual screens.
posted by defcom1 at 3:46 PM on March 25, 2009