IOGEAR USB 2.0 Laptop KVM with File Transfer GCS661U (Black)

by Iogear

Product Details

• Item Weight: 3.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001ESDOP0
• Item model number: GCS661U
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 1, 2004

Product Description

IOGear GCS661U the USB laptop KVM switch is the latest innovation from IOGEAR, combining easy switching and convenient file transferring between two computers. It allows the user to seamlessly control a second computer with a laptop as the console. The KVM features a toolbar with multiple functions such as file transfer, desktop image scaling and others. With its desktop image scaling, user can adjust the resolution of the remote screen for best possible viewing, simply with the click of a button. The built-in file transfer utility software lets the user drag & drop any files or create backup copies between both computers, or from external USB storage devices. The extra USB port provides a means to connect a USB peripheral device, such as an external hard drive to the laptop. The GCS661U offers a complete easy to install out-of-box, Plug & Play solution and with no additional cables needed. It is ideal for people who own a laptop and an older desktop PC and wish to keep using both for various functions or applications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars rblaw, November 2, 2008

By 

rblaw (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: IOGEAR USB 2.0 Laptop KVM with File Transfer GCS661U (Black) (Personal Computers)

The product works pretty well, but it is not quite the whiz described by David Pogue. Setup was easy. The software is in the product. I use it to display the laptop on the large desktop monitor, but the laptop does not display full screen on the monitor. Since I do my email on the laptop, I can also do it on the desktop, but there is a tiny image delay that makes typing email using the desktop monitor and keyboard a bit awkward. I can cut and paste from the laptop (remote) to the desktop (local), but not from desktop to the laptop. There is a USB port in the device that allows a printer connection, but that just provides another USB port for the desktop because it can't be used to print from the laptop. The connection between the computers stops from time to time, but can be reestablished easily.

The file sharing feature works easily in both directions although it uses a file manager that is a bit clunky.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for its intended purpose, hard to stretch much further, January 10, 2009

By 

John A. Radi "jradi" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: IOGEAR USB 2.0 Laptop KVM with File Transfer GCS661U (Black) (Personal Computers)

This cable is essentially a way to link two computers in order to do file transfer. Its intent is to allow you to boot up old desktop pc's which you've long ago ditched the monitor and keyboard, and retrieve the files using your laptop's keyboard, monitor and mouse. For that purpose, it works well.

As a KVM alternative, it's not exactly stellar. As you may read on reviews at other sites, there is a bit of lag. Over USB2, you can't view video or things with fast refresh rate, but you can essentially use the other computer as you would expect. One disappointing thing was, that while the packaging says that it "automatically adjusts for resolution," I didn't care for this feature. I would have expected, that as possible on other VNC software solutions, when you resize the window, the remote desktop resizes so you can see the entire desktop at one time. With the VNC software that comes built into this KVM switch, when the remote desktop is larger than your laptop screen realestate, the software gives you scroll bars for vertical and horizontal. This makes navigating another computer a little cumbersome and can make certain applications nearly unusable.

Lastly, over a USB1 connection, this product isn't even worth trying. The lag was over a minute. If you opened an application, it would be a minute before you'd get the feedback that it had started. I had a monitor running on the remote desktop so I was able to track the lag, which was significant. If typing on one screen, it would take a minute for the text to appear. DO NOT RECOMMEND it for USB1 connection.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome usage, some lagg, overall a definitely recommend, August 14, 2009

By 

G. Pedroni (Bensenville, il United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: IOGEAR USB 2.0 Laptop KVM with File Transfer GCS661U (Black) (Personal Computers)

Just got this to add to my IT tech kit. I do some side IT work. Needed something to help me do data transfer from PC to my laptop. I also have a nice 32gig thumb drive but I needed something just in case.

Overall quality seems great. The cables are a great length and the ability to link into a thumb drive or another USB add on is cool. This is really cool if you want to do a data backup from a PC that only has a power cable hooked up and saves you time from having to plug in stuff. There is some lag, but I think its more from slower computers. My newer laptops I plug it into have a half second delay. I've also tested it on my tower and there is about a 1 second delay. not too noticeable if your not looking at the other screen.

Overall i really like the product and it should help me do some work. I wish I could upgrade the software. I also wish I could do a virus scan to another PC via the cable, but I haven't figured a way out. This is convenient in that I don't have to remove an HDD or plug in a monitor, or do a transfer between my laptop, a thumb drive, then back to a PC.

The software is SUPER basic. More of a techy style interface, but I don't expect any main stream users to buy this product.

Besides the lag, its a good product.