Reviewed by: D_Original on 10-Jun-07 Rating: 
Strengths:- Multi-Platform Compatibility- PS2, USB & Audio Peripheral Sharing- Compact Size + Horizontal or Vertical Orientation- Cascading
Weaknesses:- USB 1.0 throughput only- No On-screen status/switching display- Non-native support for DVI input/output
Summary:Overall, I like this KVM very much. It has a few shortcomings which can be attributed to the time when the product was first designed/manufactured. Specifically the USB 1.0 only and non-native DVI I/O support, however these things are minimal and don\'t impact the overall strengths of the unit. The KVM is well designed and compact, so can choose to display it on your desktop or tuck it away nearby. Either way, the ability to set it\'s orientation to Horizontal or Vertical (with included stand) gives you the option do what\'s best for your setup.
Setup is as easy and straight forward as matching colored-coded cable connectors. If you have DVI only Graphics Cards on any of the machines you intend to connect to the KVM, you will have to use VGA-DVI Adapters (not included w/ KVM but often included with new PCs or LCD Monitors and inexpensively available from computer/electronics stores). For DVI only Graphics Cards adjusting screen settings to get optimal resolution & sharpness may require testing different versions of Graphics Card Drivers from the manufacturer, but I\'ve found downloading the most current versions of drivers typically resolves this issue. Also, Multi-Platform Compatibility is an enormous PLUS!!! I run Mac & Windows based machines – all connected to the KVM – and I have had absolutely no issues toggling back and forth. It all just works as expected.
USB/PS2, Audio & Peripheral Sharing is a very nice feature set. It makes switching from machine to machine and always knowing that you have the same set of devices/peripherals available to you a definite plus. Sharing 1 set of speakers, 1 microphone or 1 printer is terrific. Some other USB devices (like Cameras, PDAs etc.) may not have adequate USB pass-through support, but I have yet found a need to share these types of devices between multiple PCs. Card Readers will typically share without driver issues; however the USB 1.0 throughput limitation will make transfer speeds less than optimal for USB 2.0 Card Readers.
Keyboard switching between devices is relatively easy and also offers the option to carry shared devices to the next machine or Monitor & Mouse only. This is nice if you don\'t need all the peripherals connected to one PC loaded onto the next every time you toggle machines. A Visual/On-Screen display (similar to \'Alt-Tab\' application switching) would have been a welcome plus for machine switching/toggling, but it\'s not a critical omission.
The real benefit I found with this device was actually not an advertised feature...Cascading!!! This allows you to connect Multiple KVMs to each other and share more than 4 machines (similar to adding an Ethernet switch to another one to increase the number of available ports). I actually bought this unit to do this very task, as I\'ve recently added 2 additional machines to my setup.
I first contacted iOGEAR to make sure it was possible and when I received a convincing yes from their Tech Support, I didn\'t hesitate in pursuing this as a solution to my expansion. Again here setup was very easy and making the switch from KWM 1 to KVM 2 was again simply a matter of keyboard entries or tapping the appropriate button on the unit(s) for switching to machines 5 & 6.
I\'ve enjoyed using these KVMs and have no major complaints. They are excellent solutions with great features for the price at which they retail. If you\'re like me, you can shop around and find the best price, making the purchase even more of a bargain.
USB 2.0, On-Screen Display & DVI capability would have been everything needed for complete 5-Star Review, but it\'s still a great buy and won\'t disappoint.
EM
Setup is as easy and straight forward as matching colored-coded cable connectors. If you have DVI only Graphics Cards on any of the machines you intend to connect to the KVM, you will have to use VGA-DVI Adapters (not included w/ KVM but often included with new PCs or LCD Monitors and inexpensively available from computer/electronics stores). For DVI only Graphics Cards adjusting screen settings to get optimal resolution & sharpness may require testing different versions of Graphics Card Drivers from the manufacturer, but I\'ve found downloading the most current versions of drivers typically resolves this issue. Also, Multi-Platform Compatibility is an enormous PLUS!!! I run Mac & Windows based machines – all connected to the KVM – and I have had absolutely no issues toggling back and forth. It all just works as expected.
USB/PS2, Audio & Peripheral Sharing is a very nice feature set. It makes switching from machine to machine and always knowing that you have the same set of devices/peripherals available to you a definite plus. Sharing 1 set of speakers, 1 microphone or 1 printer is terrific. Some other USB devices (like Cameras, PDAs etc.) may not have adequate USB pass-through support, but I have yet found a need to share these types of devices between multiple PCs. Card Readers will typically share without driver issues; however the USB 1.0 throughput limitation will make transfer speeds less than optimal for USB 2.0 Card Readers.
Keyboard switching between devices is relatively easy and also offers the option to carry shared devices to the next machine or Monitor & Mouse only. This is nice if you don\'t need all the peripherals connected to one PC loaded onto the next every time you toggle machines. A Visual/On-Screen display (similar to \'Alt-Tab\' application switching) would have been a welcome plus for machine switching/toggling, but it\'s not a critical omission.
The real benefit I found with this device was actually not an advertised feature...Cascading!!! This allows you to connect Multiple KVMs to each other and share more than 4 machines (similar to adding an Ethernet switch to another one to increase the number of available ports). I actually bought this unit to do this very task, as I\'ve recently added 2 additional machines to my setup.
I first contacted iOGEAR to make sure it was possible and when I received a convincing yes from their Tech Support, I didn\'t hesitate in pursuing this as a solution to my expansion. Again here setup was very easy and making the switch from KWM 1 to KVM 2 was again simply a matter of keyboard entries or tapping the appropriate button on the unit(s) for switching to machines 5 & 6.
I\'ve enjoyed using these KVMs and have no major complaints. They are excellent solutions with great features for the price at which they retail. If you\'re like me, you can shop around and find the best price, making the purchase even more of a bargain.
USB 2.0, On-Screen Display & DVI capability would have been everything needed for complete 5-Star Review, but it\'s still a great buy and won\'t disappoint.
EM