Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys PS2KVM4 ProConnect 4-Port Compact KVM Switch (PS/2)

This switch is a terrific value.

I bought this switch for use at home to connect three computers in my home-office. I am very happy with my choice.

The switch supports video resolutions up to 1920x1440. In the past, I found other low-cost KVM switches show noticeable image deterioration above 1024x768.

There is a easy-to-use button on the device to switch among your machines. LED's on top tell you which machine you have selected. You can also switch between machines using the keyboard. There are three KVM switching modes via keyboard:

Switch directly:

... Go to machine N: Alt, Ctrl, Shift, {1 2 3 or 4}, Enter

Auto-Scan (3 second interval):

... Begin Auto-scan: Alt, Ctrl, Shift, 0, Enter.

... Stop auto-scan: Spacebar

Up/down mode (Make it easy to quickly switch between machines):

... Begin Up/down mode: Alt, Ctrl, Shift, 0, Enter

... Go to previous machine: Left-Shift

... Go to next machine: Right-Shift

... Stop up/down mode: Spacebar

Unlike some KVM switches, you hit Alt, Ctrl, and Shift in order, one-at-a-time. You don't "chord" the keys together. (This actually is a benefit in my case -- I use the Emacs editor in Linux, and my previous "cheapie" KVM switch had a Ctrl-Alt-key combination command that conflicted with the editor.)

The ProConnect doesn't have an On-Screen-Display that tells you the name of the selected computer. I use OSD-enabled switches for work in the datacenter; but, given this unit's price, not having OSD is an acceptable limitation for the home-office.

I've looked at a number of KVM devices (Belkin, Apex, Aten, Cybex and many others) before purchasing this one and I couldn't be happier. It's small, light, well designed and doesn't require another brick for power (it draws power from the keyboard port). Of course the fifteen cables I have coming out of three of its sides distract a bit from its elegant design (I solved that by buying high quality matching cables and tying them into neat bundles).

There isn't much to operating the switch. A big button on the front (the side opposite the blue end) manually toggles between CPUs. But using the keyboard is simpler (it also lets you hide the device and the fifteen cables out of sight). Specific keystrokes allow you to switch to a specific CPU, to switch to the last CPU used or to set the device in autoscan mode (whereby the display continuously switches between the attached CPUs).

Higher end switches offer such features as on screen displays, modifiable time interval for the autoscan mode, support for serial mice, support for non-PCs, the ability to mount the switch in a rack and sometimes the ability to place the CPUs really far away from you. On the other hand these higher end switches often require custom cables (this one doesn't) and have limited video bandwidth (this device will go up to 1920x1440). Oh yes, they also cost 10 times as much.

My only wish is for something that no KVM manufacturer seems to have thought of: Be able to share all the other things that I use with my PCs (microphone, speakers, USB ports, phone line, etc.). Maybe their marketing departments found "KVMMSUP switch" too much of a tongue twister.

For the money, you can't beat this KVM switch. I use it with a Win98 machine, 2 NT workstations, and a Solaris8 x86 box. The only thing I've had to give up were the extended functions of my Logitech MouseMan plus mouse. On the Win98 machine, I can't use the mouse's wheel or the thumb button (which I had grown very used to using). On the NT boxes I can use the wheel, but still no thumb button. On the Solaris box - well, a mouse is a mouse, so you don't lose anything there.

I especially like the hotkeys - you can hit ctrl+alt+shift [1-4] to choose screens 1 through 4. There's another that allows you to automatically cycle endlessly through all screens, and another mode that lets you switch back and forth between screens screens by hitting the shift key.

Given the fact that there are cables going into all 4 sides of the box when you're using it with 4 PCs, it's nice that there's hotkeys to switch between screens, because there's NO way that hitting the button on the box will be practical.

Bottom line is that if you're a geek like me with a bunch of PCs that you want to access with a KVM switch, this is great. However, if you're a gamer with special mouse functionality being used, or a hardcore thumb-button user, you'll have to pass on this option.

this KVM switch works fine with all the OS I have (Win98, NT, 2000,Linux,etc). On one particular NT computer, if nothing is showing on the foreground, I noticed a very very faint "wave/rainbow" patterns in the background. You will need to buy KVM PS2 cables for this unit. it comes with no cable kits. Overall, it's a terrific value for the money

BEWARE: This KVM doesn't pass the roll-up, roll-down and the thumb button on a Logitech MouseMan+ through to the computers. I would assume it has problems with the new Microsoft roller mice too.

If you don't need these, it's a nice box, but if you EVER need them, you'll keep cursing it until you replace it.