Home > Consumer Reviews > IOGEAR GCS102U - MiniViewTM USB KVMP Kit with Cables for MAC and PC

I bought this KVM a few weeks ago after scouring the web for USB KVM boxes. This was one of the few out there that qualified. The reason I needed a USB switch was for my wife's computer, which is an Apple Power Mac G4. The other computer hooked up to it is a clone Pentium 3 system. So far, we have not had any problems with the unit. In general, we tend to put the Apple in sleep mode when we shut in down rather then power it off altogether. When we switch back to the Apple after using the PC for a while, the Apple automatically turns on without having to wake it up. On the PC side, I am running Windows XP, and I normally shut it down in hibernation mode. Switching from the Apple to the PC, all I have to do is hit the power button, and I'm up and running with both the mouse and keyboard completely functional.

One side note - I am using the Macintosh USB keyboard that came with the Power Mac, and the USB mouse is a Microsoft Optical. So far, both of these devices have worked great between the two computers. Also, we have an HP DeskJet printer which we share between the two computers, and I plugged the printer into one of the two USB slots that are on the front of the KVM. So far, it's worked great.

Other then it being PC and MAC friendly, this is a great system if only for the fact that it comes complete with everything you need to set it up - no need to go out and buy more cables. The only drawback I could see is that you are limited to sharing the KVM between only two computers. But if what you are looking for is a good (and inexpensive) way to share one keyboard, mouse, and monitor with two computers (whether it is a MAC or PC), then this would be a sound solution for you.

I do like the Iogear KVM switch as it is an upgrade from the simpler switch I had before. The original only controlled the keyboard, mouse, and monitor. The new one controls those three, plus all USBs I have hooked up to it, from one computer to the other, including the printer.
The only three "setbacks" I have had with this switch is that it has to sit on my desktop because you have to press a button on the switch to change from one computer to the other. I would prefer the hot key (scroll lock) switch on my keyboard like my older model had. Second, the printer will stop printing if you switch computers while the printing job is still happening. I would like to see some type of a continuation set up that would allow the printer to finish the current job. Third, the USB ports are not 2.0 and therefore a little slow to recognize the switch. There is a unit that has all 2.0, but is 2 or 3 times more expesnive than this model. The cost difference is not worth it for a few seconds of lag time on the switch.

I had another KVM that uses emulation to keep the system believing that there is always a connection, but when I upgraded to an enhanced keyboard, the enhancements wouldn't work. This switch doesn't use emulation, and all of the enhanced features now work well. I use my primary w/s for gaming and my Windows 2003 Server (x64 edition) is the other PC connected to this KVM, and this switch doesn't cause any issues.

Good: comes with all the cables you need to setup a switch for two systems to share a monitor, USB keyboard and USB mouse. Reasonably priced. Small size. Supposedly has hot switch capability.
Bad: Recognized desktop, but wouldn't recognize laptop and wouldn't switch between systems. Basically my primary system would work as long as it was the first and only system I used. As soon as I hit the switch it was time to shut down and reboot both systems. I'm a well-above average user and I tried everything I could think of to make it work, read the directions from the start, booted up separately to allow initialization, checked the knowledge base website. After several frustrating hours I returned it.

This is a great KVM switch for using two computers with one monitor and one USB keyboard and mouse. I have two and they both work great. One switches between a Mac Leopard and PC Windows XP Pro cpus. The second switches between a Mac OS9 and Mac Tiger OS. I would recommend this to anyone with two cpus. It is a great product and stands out for its ease of use. Simply plug in the cables and your off and running. No software to install. One simple click of the top switch moves you between cpus and an led light identifies which cpu you are on. Rev. Edward G Palmer