Requesting KM Switch purchase advice

Level1 Store Product Inquiries
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I’m looking for advice on a KM switch to replace the garbage usb switcher I have from Amazon. The current switcher prevents a steady connection to the peripherals; a few times a minute the keyboard and mouse will stop responding for a few seconds on Windows. I came across you guys after some research and am looking for some direction.

My setup is as follows:

  • dual-boot PC with Ubuntu 22.04 and Windows 10
  • macbook pro with Apple M3 Pro cpu running macOS 14.4.1
  • a single monitor 5120 x 1440, 240hz
  • the mac and PC directly send video to the monitor’s two displayport 1.4 inputs
  • the mac and PC are connected to the cheap usb switcher, allowing me to swap keyboard, mouse, webcam, and audio between the two
  • The audio pipeline is USB → DAC → amp → headphones

I am looking at 4-Port KM Switch with USB 3.2 Gen 1 Mouse Roaming Function — Level1Techs Store with USB audio interface.

My questions:

  1. Is this the correct/best product for my needs?
  2. If I have more than 5 peripherals, can I use a USB hub to connect them to the KM switch without issue?
  3. Is it correct to use the USB audio interface to connect the DAC to the KM switch?
  4. Are you familiar with the connectivity dropout issue I am trying to solve on Windows with this product?
1 Like
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Did you end up purchasing the KM Switch you linked above? I was also curious about the answers to your questions before I decide on my purchase.

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  1. It sounds like the normal use case for the KM. Should be fine.
  2. Yup USB hubs are fine.
  3. Yes you can use a USB connection to an audio interface, something like a Focusrite or AudioBox.
  4. I have seen this before. As far as I know, we’ve worked out this bug in the firmware for our KMs & KVMs.
4

OP: I have some experience with KM switches. Something I’ve found with all of these products (so far) is they have a significant voltage drop. For a simple keyboard and mouse that use only a few mA it doesn’t seem to matter. Add LEDs to the keyboard and other power consuming peripherals like the webcam and it starts to matter.

Will the dropouts go away if you disconnect the webcam and the audio? What about disconnecting the Mac?