I have a laptop (for work) and a desktop PC (for personal use) that I use side by side in my home office. I'm thinking of purchasing 2 Dell P2414H 24" monitors with a dual monitor stand. I'd like to be able to use the computers/monitors in these configurations:
1) Both screens for the laptop (with laptop in a docking station)
2) One screen for the laptop and one for the desktop
3) Both screens for the desktop (not absolutely required)
Ideally I'd share one USB keyboard and mouse between the two computers.
Can I accomplish this with a KVM switch, and if so, what kind do I need?
Do I need any software?
How cumbersome is the switching – especially in the 2nd scenario where I'd like to be able to see both the laptop and desktop at the same time, but will have to switch the keyboard to go back and forth between the monitors. Suggestions are welcome.
An alternate scenario would be NOT to share keyboards (could use the laptop undocked, for example, with its keyboard and a separate keyboard for the desktop). In this case, would I need a KVM switch or could I accomplish the same result using different ports on the monitors? Each monitor has VGA, DVI-C and DisplayPort connections.
Thank you!
Lisa
Best Answer
What I do for my setup, with two monitors for two computers, is to use both inputs of the monitors (they each have VGA & DVI). The VGA both go to computer A, the DVI go to computer B. I then have a KVM with just the keyboard and mouse on it. Then you can switch monitor configurations using the monitor buttons, and keyboard/mouse using the KVM.
(Alternately, you could accomplish this with two KVM switches; one with just monitor A attached, to both computers; and one with one monitor B plus they keyboard and mouse, attached to both computers.)
Or you could use a remote desktop solution, like the builtin one in Windows, or use Chrome remote desktop. But I think that's outside the scope of your question.