Home > Consumer Reviews > Cables To Go 35566 Trulink 4-Port VGA/USB 2.0 and PS/2 KVM Switch with Audio and Cables

The first KVM did not switch so I returned it (easier to return through Amazon than through the manufacturer though they are ok...if something of this nature does not work, I have little time to fill out forms after crawling under the desk to plug everything in--only to unplug everything again when it didn't work--the tech could tell from my call that it was kaput so a simple RMA number should have sufficed but they had more forms to fill...).

Since I know a bit about manufacturing electronic devices and since this product has all the features I want, I was willing to try it again. So far, I am glad. Switching between a PC and Mac is quick. (But I can not use keyboard commands or other methods with my setup so the switch buttons HAVE TO WORK!) My Evergreen PS/2 trackball works fine and even the MS ergo keyboard special keys all work. Since the keyboard hogged one of the few USB ports on the KVM, I added a USB hub to solve that problem. I haven't tested all devices but so far, the USB ports allow printer sharing--without the fuss of network sharing--a big plus.

One purchase I added that works well with this KVM: a power saving surge protector--now that I have so many things plugged in!

I found this KVM switch very easy to use - pretty much just plug and play. I am able to use one keyboard and mouse for 3 computers. The impressive part is that I have 2 Macs and 1 PC. All work great with this switch, including sharing a printer. I especially like the fact that there is an available USB port for another device or flash drive.

I have owned this KVM switch for about 8 months or so. I thought this would be a good KVM switch. Came with cables, supports audio and PS/2 (on input, at least), which is getting harder and harder to find. But, this KVM switch has always been a little off. For example, if the KVM is not on the port of a rebooting computer, the screen size will be off, larger than monitor, and it requires a reboot to fix. This could be a resolution limitation or incompatibility with widescreen monitors, though.

The KVM does not play well with motherboards on boot (hitting delete to go into BIOS does nothing). I have had to reset the KVM frequently and keyboards will act like there are keys "stuck." The mouse can do the same thing. This is bad when you are trying to accomplish a simple task and the computer thinks you are holding the "Shift" key down or double-clicking on an icon keeps giving you the properties window instead of executing the program. But, it is really annoying when you are not even at a computer only to return and find that thousands of "a's" have been typed. Even worse when your browser thinks you keep clicking on something over and over and over again and get 500 tabs open in Firefox.

After less than a year of ownership, it has started to completely die. While dealing with yet another instance of the mysterious "stuck key" issue, the monitor suddenly went blue tinted to purple tinted to almost black. I thought it was the monitor, but a different monitor had just a black screen, too. I was able to get a picture again by unplugging the power and all USB cables (USB cables keep switch powered) and letting it sit. But, when I powered it back up, there is very, very bad ghosting that will not seem to go away.

Alas, this KVM is going the way of the trash man as I await another brand that will hopefully give me better luck. I have yet to find a KVM switch that will last forever -- they all seem to have a short lifespan -- but, 6-8 months is ridiculous, especially for something in the $150 range.

I have owned 2 Trendnet KVM's. One is the Tk 403KR which is supposed to support my wireless mouse. NO WAY. It even loses my old IBM Keyboard. I bought this switch and was impressed as soon as I took it out of the box. It is SOLID. The rubber ends mean that if you put it on something or something on it, air can circulate. For the first time I was able to use all the buttons on my mouse. To date my keyboard has not been dropped nor has my mouse gone "crazy" on my #2 machine which happened often with the Trendnet.
What they could have done better was to let us use the numeric keypad to hotkey switch instead of the number keys on the top of the qwerty keyboard. For a better look, they could have put the mouse and keyboard ports on the back instead of the front. I find the former an irration; the latter is just esthetics.
Would I reccommend this switch,"Yes" with no reservations at all. Would I buy it again, "Definitely."

Works exactly as advertised. Consolidated 2 displays, keyboards, etc., and two other RDP controlled systems with a lot of deskspace returned. Handles Win2k3 Server, Win2k-Pro and WinXP with no issues. I did have to update my older ATI Wonder drivers. For some reason the ATI card wanted to span and scan my 24" wide screen instead of running the 1920x1600 resolution direct. Update and a few setting changes solved the problem. CablesToGo has an excellent reputation and this product excellent reviews. For XVGA displays, this is a winner.