[Official] L1Techs KVM FAQ -- Ultimate Guide & Help!

Hey all quick question.

Any ideas when we might see stock?
Usecase:
Win 11 w/ GTX 4070ti
2018 Intel Mac Mini
TrueNAS w/ x570 5600G
Raspi4 in Timecard mini(mini hdmi)

Display is LG 42" C2 OLED

I have weird problems with my Mac mini that may or may not be solved by this. I have a 2 port chinesium KVM that works will with every device…except sometimes the Mac Mini…and its really annoying. But the Mac Mini also sometimes has problems even if I bypass the KVM…tried many cables.

Hm, if you’re interested you can DM me, we have some of these at our office :slight_smile:

Hello everyone!

I’m exploring options for a KVM switch that can support my current setup. Here are the details:

  • Desktop PC (Windows) with an MSI MAG B550M Bazooka motherboard and an ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3080 GPU.
  • MacBook Pro M1 (2020) and MacBook Air M3 (2024).
  • Wireless Logitech Mouse (USB-A via Bluetooth) and Wireless Keyboard (also USB-A).
  • Monitors: ViewSonic XG270QG (1440p, 1x HDMI 1.4 and 1x DisplayPort) and LG 4K.

Ideally, I’d like a KVM that allows me to game at 4K resolution and over 60fps, but I’m unsure if I’d need a device with 10Gbps bandwidth for this.

I was interested in this KVM switch:

Additionally, if anyone has tips on cable requirements or other KVMs with strong support for mixed setups like this, I’d appreciate it!

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi there - I have the dual monitor USBC/DP KVM - mistakenly thought the GPU on my desktop had USBC out (it does not). Has anyone had experience using USBC on a desktop GPU for display out + keyboard, mouse etc? Or should I just be waiting for the USB combiners to come back in stock?

Thanks for any advice

If you would like to buy a Combiner send me a DM, we have some here at our office

Hello I’m curious I have the dock pictured in the L1Techs DisplayPortKVM Connections 10-gigabit * For Connecting a Dock but am curious as to whether one of the KVMs would be able to be used as a KVM to switch between two computers connected to one dock?

@Level1_Amber I am little bit confused about the EDID ability of the 1.4 Display Port KVM Switch - Single Monitor - Four Computer. From the sound of it, the KVM itself can’t emulate EDID when you switch in between devices. If you want EDID emulation ability you need to get EDID Feeder - HDMI 2.1 / DisplayPort 2.0???

The EDID Feeder - HDMI 2.1 / DisplayPort 2.0 appears only have DP in and HDMI out. So how does this work with KVM?

The EDID ability I am after is the ability to let device assume the monitor is still there even KVM switch it to other devices. So the application window is not been resized after switching.

The DisplayPort 1.4 KVM does not support EDID monitor emulation. It has an engine to suit HDCP HDCP Rekeying, but that’s it.

It’s for the DP output of the KVM to the HDMI input to your monitor.

Right, that’s monitor emulation. What OS are you using?

I have MacBook Pro 16 inch Intel CPU based (macOS Sequoia). And Win11 laptop. From time to time I also use Ubuntu 24.04+ on my Windows laptop.

I did noticed the product description page mentioning following
“… * Intelligent EDID Engine for HDCP Rekeying (computers know when the port is inactive. Check out the Level1Techs repeater if you need monitor emulation). …” Which repeater is it referring to here? I have Samsung 49" CRG90 DQHD Curved 120Hz Monitor with firmware updated to ver 1007.2 (the latest)

On the monitor, only the DP port fully support 120Hz refresh rate, so I am only looking for DP repeater. " DP Repeater + HDMI Splitter" is better choice for me?

Probably a dumb question

If you intend to use mouse roam please use with only a single display (real or virtual) per input. Microsoft has disabled the ability to use more than one absolute co-ordinate pointing device in some windows updates.

I read this as the issue with multiple monitors on one of the systems being specifically for windows.

Does that mean Linux or mac-os can support multiple monitors?

I was trying it out with a mac-book to see but couldn’t move from an extended display to the mac-book\s built-in display.

I haven’t been asked that before. @wendell ?

@Level1_Amber I got few questions

  1. Is the 1.4 Display Port KVM Switch - Single Monitor - Four Computer currently available in store? Do I need to check with you directly for its availability before making order online?

  2. I wish to have EDID monitor emulation. I am using MacOS Sequoia, Win11, Ubuntu 24.04+ OS. Which EIDI device should I push with KVM?

Thanks

Yes it is :slight_smile:

No not at all, people just ask me about what we have at the office if the store is sold out.

You will need a feeder for the DP out to your monitor. We have one available:

it might be easier if you do HDMI instead of dp. do edid emulation without side effects on gsync is hard on dp. easier on HDMI

Thanks @wendell for the suggestions. This put me in a difficult position. I have Samsung 49" CRG90 DQHD Curved 120Hz monitor. Its HDMI port can only support maximum at 3840 x 1080 @ 120 Hz, where DP port can support 5120 x 1440 @ 120 Hz. Given this monitor only support FreeSync, not GSync. Does it matter with DP using EDID Feeder?

@Level1_Amber I noticed EDID feeder - HDMI 2.1/DisplayPort 2.0 only support DP input and HDMI output. I guess I can’t use for my monitor above where I want DP input and DP output.

Oh! I see. Hmmm @wendell, can they use the DP Repeater + HDMI Splitter for DP EDID monitor emulation and also keep VRR?

lol, figured it wasn’t supported but couldn’t hurt to ask.

It’s easy enough to turn mouse roaming off when I need to work off two displays.

1 Like

Will the multi-display KVMs have any issue if one of the computers connected has only one display?

Define issue? It will work of course, but the default behavior will rearrange your windows.

Hey y’all - looking for some info on the 4-Port KM Switch with USB SYNC, Serial Console and Remote.

I’m looking for some info to help me understand if it’s a good fit for me.

  • Serial Port
    • Is the purpose of this to enable serial control of the KM? If so, is there documentation of how to send signaling to the KM over serial I could look at? If not, what is the purpose of this port?
  • USB ports
    • How much power is provided to each USB port? I’ve been entertaining buying one of these KM switches for a while to enable me to add automation to my existing KM switch workflow, but what’s pushed me over the edge was the purchase of 2 Keychron keyboards that have internal batteries charging over their USB ports, which ended up causing brownouts on my existing bus-powered USB switch.
    • In the event we’re looking at an insufficient amount of power for these keyboards, given that I’m likely going to need a USB Hub anyway to connect all the devices I’m going to want to switch, are there any concerns or gotchas I should be aware of wrt using a Hub? The ones I am aware of are:
      1. Don’t anticipate a USB Hub working on the HID ports
      2. Avoid large hubs that might be a daisy chain internally.
  • Ethernet Adapter and Audio DAC
    • I don’t plan on using this functionality. Is there a way to disable it? I’d rather not have another Ethernet adapter and audio device attached to my systems, which might cause more harm than benefit during hotplug events.

TY!