DVI monitors and new keyboards on KVM

Ultimately this post contains questions about the “1.4 Display Port KVM Switch - Dual Monitor - Four Computer” KVM switch.

I’m looking into replacing my KVM switch, mostly so I can use new keyboards, but also so that I might upgrade my monitors sometime in the future.

Current setup:
Aten CS1644a (dual DVI monitor, 4 computers)
Logitech G15 wired keyboard
Logitech G502 wired mouse
2x Samsung SyncMaster 2443 monitors (1920x1200@60Hz, DVI+VGA only)

This works quite nice. With DP to DVI cables I’m able to have all my computers connect to the switch, and have no problems with anything as it is.

However, my keyboard is getting ooold, and really need to be replaced. The few times I’ve tried a new nice mechanical keyboard, it’s been “Nope - I don’t want to work with that” from the switch.

I’ve tried:
Corsair K95 (This overly expensive beast has since died, but worked when switched to BIOS mode)
Keychron Q6 ISO w. knob (Only works in standard USB port, and no mouse when used in port with keyboard emulation)

So… I’m looking for another KVM switch and stumbled onto the Level1Tech store and videos about this, and are now looking at the “1.4 Display Port KVM Switch - Dual Monitor - Four Computer” as a possible replacement.

However two questions come to mind:

  1. Will It be possible to get keyboard hotkey switching working with a Keychron Q6 keyboard?
  2. Will I be able to use DVI monitors with the KVM switch?

I’m not anticipating any real problems if firmware updates or special configuration of the keyboard is needed.

The reason I’m not looking into upgrading my monitors at the same time is, that I really like the matte screen and the 16:10 aspect ratio of those monitors, but I am looking at getting some new 4K or QHD monitors at some time in the future. Gaming is NOT a priority in my setup as mostly I’m playing old games like Diablo 2 and Wing Commander.

as long as they work with your GPU they’ll work with the kvm, the kvm is passthrough, that also means it doesn’t repeat signal so both ends combine length for a single cable

Probably not a problem for 1200p but keep in mind

For dual link DVI it’s more complicated as you’ll need active adatpers

Uhm… I’m making the assumption that by “they” you mean the monitors.

I don’t think I’ve connected monitors directly to my GPU’s for the last 10 years, they’ve always gone through a KVM switch. In my latest GPU’s (updated from GTS 970 to RTX 3060ti) , the DVI ports has been discontinued, and so I’ve had to use adapter cables to change the DisplayPort on the GPU to the DVI that the KVM switch expects. Now, the transformation need to happen between the KVM and monitors instead of the PC to KVM, and I’ve had somewhat mixed success (read didn’t get it to work) doing that with an Aten CS1944DP KVM switch.

On the Aten KVM switches, the signal is terminated and then simulated on each connection, so that switching isn’t immediately obvious to the underlying OS, except for things like HDCP, which means that if I’m playing a BluRay in PowerDVD, that stops due to mismatch in monitor configurations when I’m switching. OS still sees the two extra monitors, even though they’ve been switched to another host.