Customer Reviews

IOGEAR 4-Port USB Cable KVM Switch GCS24U (Black)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

So far this product seems to work great with an aluminum, 20' imac and, a pc that is running linux. I have used it for about a month now and haven't had any problems. I use it with a wireless keyboard (kb) and separate wireless mouse. Using a separate mouse is important because it would not work correctly using the same wireless transmitter for the keyboard and mouse. After trying and troubleshooting a couple different setups I developed the opinion that the KVM requires something to be plugged in to both usb ports which is what prevents the kb/mouse combos as they only end up using one port. I bring this up because there appears to be only a handful of cheap wireless options where you aren't forced to get a combo kb and mouse for the deal.

Wanted to mention that I also tried the default wired kb/mouse that comes with an imac where the usb mouse plugs into the usb port on the kb and the kb plugs into the computer or in this case the KVM. This didn't work for me which is consistent with my opinion that both usb ports on the KVM need to be populated.

I would have given this KVM a perfect rating because I don't think iogear intended it to be used with wireless accessories but I wish it supported the use of hot keys. The KVM has a toggle button which I knew about going into it but the button is very light and unless weighed down by something moves too much. The button works fine but requires a thin cable that tarnishes my wireless experience slightly. I park the toggle button between the mouse and keyboard. To give it the five stars I think it would have been nice if they included a 3M sticky strip or added some weight to it for stability.

I bought the GCS24U at Amazon and use it to connect to four computers. Two are windows and two are linux. I intended to use it with a Wireless USB Keyboard, mouse combination (Logitech MK300). One Windows and One linux machine (laptops) tend to be on most of the time, the two desktops periodically.

My issues are:

1. When I leave the setup idle for a while, the monitor goes to sleep and no amount of mouse jiggling and keyboard pounding seem to help. It is unclear who is failing to talk to whom.

2. Can't toggle without the little black button (i.e. keyboard based toggling)

Other than these two, the product is solid, well built and does as intended. It is well constructed and the cables are of good quality and display resolution is awesome at 1920x1200.

Pros: Good Cable length and solid construction. No issues at all. Overall probably one of the better 4 port KVM switchs available. The control switch, sized just right, small enough that it does not take up desk space, large enough to allow toggling at the touch of a finger.

Cons: None.

Considerations: This is a KVM, not a KVMA. No audio switching.

In the past (PS2 devices), it was important for the KVM switch to send an electrical signal back to the computer to imply that a keyboard and mouse was present on the wire. With USB, I guess this is not as necessary, because when I switch to another computer, I hear the computer I left acknowledge that a USB device is no longer connect and the current computer will also acknowledge that connection of a new device. While this seems to work, it doesn't work instantaneously. Sometimes I'm waiting a few seconds. I find this very annoying. Other than that, the device works and is well build. It was a hard decision between 3 and 4 stars, but yes it is very annoying!

When it arrived, I was disappointed to find that it requires 2 USB ports on each computer in order to work.

Since I only had 1 available USB port on my work laptop, I had to send this back and opt for another model. While the switch button was not a deal breaker, the double USB connector was. My compact 2-port IOGEAR KVM only had 1 USB connector for each computer, and it supported a keyboard shortcut to switch between computers.

The video looked fine on my 24" monitor running at 1920 x 1200 resolution.

I should have known when they did not list the cable lenghts that they would be too short. When they don't list cirtical details like that you can be sure its not what you want.IOGear 4-Port USB Cable KVM Switch GCS24U (Black)

I just installed the third one of these, and again it has connection issues. The first one had a dead line, replaced quickly and easily by Amazon. The second worked intermittently, returned to the company because it was out of the 30 days from Amazon. The third one has the same problems as the first.

Good compact size allows me to hide the unit and it's tentacles from view. The single switch button is small enough as well to keep my desk from looking cluttered. Functionally it works the way a KVM switch is supposed to work. The switching from one pc to the other may take from one to three seconds on average. I had an old iogear switch that was instant when switching between pc's. Why is that significant? Because I'm a gamer so if you are a gamer playing multiplayer games with multiple pc's, that one to two second lag time in switching means you lose versus someone using a kvm switch that has zero switching time. Good for day to day use but not a gamers KVM.

I constantly have to reset this switch. When I switch to a PC's it kicks the other ones off. I have this connected to 4 laptops and its a constant pain to keep pulling all the laptops back out and unplugging them and then replugging all the USB cables. I do NOT recommend this product if you are using laptops.

I was surprised how small it is with an even smaller corded remote control. But it does the job just fine. I really like that the cables do not have connectors on the box side - less connections to make.