I’m looking at the 4 computer 1.4 DP with 1 monitor output at the moment. (I know there may be a 4 computer Type C in the future)
Im looking to connect 2 windows PCs and a Mac
The mac may be a MacBook Pro/air/mini (Not bought yet and will replace an iMac I currently use as my main computer)
Potential connections:
Gaming PC: DP
Work PC: Type C/HDMI
Mac: Type C
I have three main questions:
As I’m based in the UK is there a cable that I can source easily here that is recommended for the Mac connection as an alternative to the Moshi? Is there anything wrong with the L1T cable? Is this not suitable for Macs?
What cable should be used from the Work PC. The same type c cable as above, a HDMI to DisplayPort or a different type c cable? (I have no need for 120hz or anything like that. 60 4k or less would be sufficient)
Is there a one cable solution for the Mac? (If I end up buying a laptop Mac is there a way I can remove just one cable in and out rather than having to hook up both the type C to DP and another usb cable to the KVM)
The USB connection on this upcoming KVM should charge and display your MAC in 1 USB-C cable. The PCs will be able to use DisplayPort connections.
DisplayPort KVM
If you want it now/don’t want the combo KVM, here is what you could do with the DisplayPort 1.4 KVM.
If Moshi is hard to get, you might try a nice adapter. We haven’t tested this to confirm compatible but you might try:
In theory you’d be able to convert the USB-C connection to your DisplayPort 1.4 KVM & charge your Mac in 1 laptop port.
There’s nothing wrong with them, we just don’t sell a USB-C to DisplayPort cable. Moshi is very unique because USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 display & data is tough to manufacture. The USB-C cables and DisplayPort cables on the store are meant to be a affordable option to bundle with the KVMs that should be suitable for most use cases. That’s why recommend Fibbr when your use case is very strenuous on bandwidth.
You can try a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter like I mentioned before, or you can get an HDMI to DisplayPort active adapter. Here is an example of the HDMI to DisplayPort:
There are adapters out there that are not powered, but for best compatibility you’ll probably want to get a powered one.
Thanks for the detailed response. That was very helpful
I think that’s everything. Just wanted to check in terms of the adapters connecting to the Mac and also the upcoming KVM. Will the one cable also pass over the signal for the keyboard and mouse plugged into the KVM or just charge the Mac?
Both our current dual USB-C KVM and upcoming combo DP & USB-C KVM will pass through the charge, display, keyboard, and mousepad from your laptop! With the 1 USB-C → USB-C cable.
So for the DP 1.4 KVMs they all require 2 cables per computer:
10-gigabit version
(Display Only) Mac → Moshi USB C to DP → 1.4 DP KVM
(Data Only) USB-C → USB-C
5-gigabit version
(Display Only) Mac → Moshi USB C to DP → 1.4 DP KVM
(Data Only) USB-A → USB-B 3.0
For the 5-gigabit version you might look into a little adapter to convert the USB-A to USB-C.
We haven’t tested those personally, but I assume they would work.