KVM Switch compatability

Are you able to confirm first if the " 1.4 Display Port KVM Switch - Dual Monitor - Two Computer" supports 2k 170hz, and secondly if I will run into any problems running a surface pro dock through the KVM switch?

Mine does not, at least not reliably.

Into the KVM is my PC (windows) and a MacBook via a TB3 dock.

On the Windows side of things, the refresh rate is often limited to 60Hz or 120Hz (display goes to 170) and the color is subsampled to 4:2:2. It’s generally a mess. Windows bug? KVM bug? Dunno. Driver bug? Shrug. But having the KVM in the loop really gets things confused. Cables are fine.

I wanted to swap between my work machine (the MacBook) and my personal PC but this setup nerfs gaming and borks color with this 4:2:2 nonsense.

Doubtful.

There is no repeater in the kvm. What your GPU sees is the combined length of two cables, not just one.

The Odyssey G9 neo works at 240hz which is 5120x1440, well beyond the bandwidth required by 2k/170hz. But it requires the best cables – Club3d or fiberoptic DP cables.

A lot of people test each cable individually and assume that it is fine, but this is not correct reasoning. There is no repeater in the KVM. As such your GPU sees not one, but two cables, and it has to output a high enough SNR to make it through both cables.

Just the other day someone was using two 10 foot ivanky cables that were “fine”

that’s 20 feet of DP cable with no repeater or booster. Big ask.

I would wager that if you get a couple of 3 foot club3d cables, total 6 feet between KVM and Display, that your issues would go away. Some of the old timers here can probably verify that.

“In the wild” with the older CRG9. More bandwidth than 2k/170, too.

What’s the display specifically?

The surface pro dock has a built-in MST hub that’s dodgy. Microsoft only tests for 4k/60 and even then it is sketchy and not great. If is a newer surface/book you’ll have better luck with a moshi bi-directional USBc cable with the surface/book rather than try to use the dock with such a display.

If you get a moshi cable, or a caldigit dock, with good cables, it’ll probably be fine for the mac. Lot of USBc to DP cables will freak out when the monitor is “inactive” hence the need for bidirectionality.

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