Iogear GCS1644 Review
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Category: Personal Computers
Brand: Iogear
Model: GCS1644
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
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Iogear GCS1644 Customer reviews
Iogear GCS1644 Review by Michael Simpson "Owner of KronosRobotics.com" (Leesburg VA)
First you have to understand how these things switch the mouse and keyboard. They have a built-in emulator that interfaced to all the PC's connected. Your counsole mouse and keyboard are read and then retransmited to the PC's via the emulator.
This keeps the driver from dropping out every time you switch. The problem with the emulator is that high end mice are not supported. IE I have tried almost all the wireless logitec mice and they dont work in emulation mode. Your only choice is to turn emulation off.
When you use non emulation mode or the alternate USB ports supplied the driver will drop out each time you leave the machine and it will reconnect each time you switch back. This is bad for two reasons.
1. The computer beeps each time this happens
2. There have been times when the mouse driver just does not attach properly and it fails.
For this reason I docked one star.
Next the advertised feature where the switch box remembers what the resolution of each monitor is does not work. If I power up a PC and it does not have focus the second monitor does not fire up most of the time.
For this reason I docked another star.
Other than the two above issues the box works as described.
Iogear GCS1644 Review by musicgeeksf (San Francisco, CA USA)
I had been on the search for a KVM for my two dual-monitor systems for several months. I have a Mac Mini (with HDMI -> DVI and MiniDisplay -> DVI converter dongles) and a Dell E6520 laptop in a dock (with two DVI outputs). The Mac, of course, has never given me any display problems, but the E6520 running Windows 7 has some super finicky display drivers that have given me constant headaches (especially considering I am using two Dell WFP2408 monitors). I mention this because if you have ever used a KVM before, you are probably aware that the KVM unit itself can introduce display detection problems and send display drivers into a tizzy.
This KVM worked flawlessly. Setup was a snap - pretty much just hooked up my cables and was good to go. The Apple worked right away, while the Dell did require a driver update to get it to work with the second monitor. I do not fault the KVM for this, as the dual monitor detection problems were exactly the same as when I originally setup dual monitors directly plugged in, so I had to go through the setup process again and "nudge" my Windows machine to see them both. After that, everything worked great.
I also use this with my wireless Logitech M510 Mouse (Logitech Wireless Mouse M510). Hooking up the USB wireless transmitter to the USB port designated for the mouse on the KVM unit did not work, but using the USB 2.0 port on the back of the KVM worked great. Using the USB 2.0 port also allows the "back" and "forward" buttons on the mouse to function properly (other KVM's truncate this command data when plugged into USB 1.1 ports doing mouse emulation) - a big plus that allows me to enjoy all my toys and their features.
This KVM also switches between systems faster than any I've ever had. It takes at most about a second.
So, all in all, if you are looking for a great dual-DVI monitor KVM, I highly recommend this product as it is exactly the solution I was looking for!
Iogear GCS1644 Review by Vonchor Plunkforth "Vonchor" (Princeton NJ)
I purchased this item on 5/31/11 and installed it on 6/5/11 (two days after delivery). The installation process was simple, and as far as switching back and forth between the two computers (A windows 7 machine and a Mac Pro) there were no problems at all (KBD is a XArmor U9BL and "Mouse" is a Logitech wireless trackball).
The problem I had, and why I had to return the GXS1642, had to do with the video performance. I have two Dell 3007 30" monitors (these use the dual-link DVI connection, resolution 2560 x 1600) driven by a NVidia GTX 560Ti on the PC and by two Nvidia GT120's on the Mac. Either of these machines work flawlessly with these monitors. Unfortunately, when run thru the GCS1642 artifacts would appear on both screens. When the 1642 connected to the Mac, little dots appeared randomly all over both screens. Sometimes short horizontal lines would appear. When the 1642 was connected to the PC, not so much dots but little warbly lines all over the place and occasional artifacts that looked like stuck pixels.
I shut everything off, checked all connections for proper tightening, and restarted. Nope. Incidentally, the problems with visual artifacts occur at lower resolutions than 2560 x 1600 as well (i.e., not just the max resolution); I tried several combinations and found similar problems.
I noticed that IOGEAR's support dept was open today (sunday) so I tried calling them. The person I spoke to had no advice except to do what I've already tried so I really have no choice but to return it.
More Reviews...
IOGEAR 4-Port Dual View Dual-Link DVI KVMP Switch with Audio GCS1644 (Black):: Technical Details
- 2-port USB 2.0 hub for peripherals sharing, Asynchronous hotkey switching between KVM focus, USB peripheral, and Audio ports
- Dual View Dual-Link DVI support - share 2 DVI monitors with a single keyboard and mouse, along 4 computers, high resolution - up to 2560 x 1600
- Complete keyboard and mouse emulation for error free booting and real-time switching, computer switching via front panel push buttons or hotkeys, supports MAC and Sun keyboard and special keys
- Supports MAC and Sun keyboard and special keys, firmware upgradeable, Plug & Play - no software installation required , Buzzer ON/OFF via hotkey , Multi OS platform support, All cables included
- IOGear's Display Emulation Technology reads and remembers the monitor's parameters (EDID) so there is no delay or change of video resolution when switching between, or booting computers
- Item Dimensions: 22 x 10 x 8 inches; 6 pounds
- Brand: Iogear
- Model: GCS1644
- Product Type: Personal Computers
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