KVMing without the jargon

There's so many KVMs to choose from that your head can start spinning at all of the options. USB, 4 ports, Firewire, DVI, etc. I don't need much of it, just a simple KVM with 2 cables for my casual dual PC needs. I knew IOGear was a reputable company, and even use them at my workplace for when I need to service two-three PCs at once. KVMs are such money, space, and time savers. They take away the need for a second monitor, keyboard, and mouse when trying to use two PCs at once. Plus, at a price of only $40, you can't beat the versatility. Belkin, from what I know, is another leader in KVMs, but I decided to go with IOGear mainly because of first hand experience.

When shopping around, be sure to know what features you want on your KVM and what price range you can buy one in. Their prices range from very cheap, moderate, to very expensive and in my opinion, wastefully overdone. Unless you have an LCD monitor with DVI input only, you should look to get a regular analog based KVM. DVI based KVMs are considerably more expensive and for the amount of time that you will be using a KVM depends on if you should get this or not. Since my KVM needs are limited to only a few times a month, analog is fine for me. My LCD looks fine with this input for a few hours of usage. However, I would not game off of such a connection, as the degradation in image quality is too severe to be overlooked.

Another big decision is to go box-style and buy external cabling or to get all-in-one cabling within a single unit, like this IOGear product. For smaller needs, the all-in-one units are so much more compact and easy to store. Since I go to a lot of LAN parties where I have to administer a server at the same time, this switch is perfect. I can wrap it up and stuff it in my backpack for the LAN. A box style KVM cannot do this as easily and the extra cabling costs major cash. Not to mention how clumsy they can be if you need to move them around a lot. Boxed KVMs are meant to sit in a single position, and are usually used in situations like in a financial consulting firm, where multiple machines are hooked into a KVM for years at a time.

The design of the GCS62 is very streamlined and techie if you ask me. Its size is wonderful as I mentioned before, and the layout of the PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports are just placed perfectly. Unlike the brother of this KVM, the one with an addition audio inputs which uses PS/2 mouse and keyboard too, this KVM can accept the USB to PS/2 dongle on the mouse and have enough room to go into the port. The other version does not allow this because of the room constraints next to the RGB cable. This is sad because I bought this model initially thinking I would be able to use it, instead, I had to make a return and opt for the $10 cheaper KVM. I have no regrets, however, as audio needs to two computers doesn't seem to be much of a problem.

The unit comes packaged in a simple plastic casing, with manual inside to tell you how to use it. There isn't much explaining to do; after connecting your two PCs to the KVM, the only thing you need to do is switch between them using the scroll lock key on the keyboard. Two fast clicks of this button will switch PCs, and the LEDs on the KVM tell you what PC you have switched to. There is a mode besides manual switching called auto, but I have never figured it out and haven't had a use for it. I believe it's an auto switch that comes in at intervals of every 5 minutes but I can't see anyone that would need such a use unless you have some special needs for a store display or the such.

The amount of slack that you are given on the cabling comes out to 10 feet per cable, more than enough to place the unit in a discrete location. It lays completely flat when placed on a table or other surface and can stay hidden very well. The fact that its cabling is molded within the unit helps a lot at decreasing the chance of dust getting into crevices and ruining quality of the reception. Indeed a very smart design choice by IOGear and giving the consumers a cost that is much lower than that of conventional, boxed units.

I've been using my KVM for about a year now without any issues. It's been taken to along to about 5 LANs since I bought it and hasn't failed me yet. IOGear never fails to amaze me at the products they create, and I have just recently purchased their new USB and Card Reader hub. I forget if you are given a 3 or 5 year warranty, but either way, that's a very long period for such a KVM unit. I had to return a product to IOGear a few years back due to a failed port on a hub, and they gave me a replacement within a week, no questions asked. Stellar customer service for such a relatively unknown company.

Will I buy from IOGear again? Of course I will. I've never been let down with the 4-5 items that I have purchased from them, and this will only lead me to them when my needs ask for it again. It's great to see that everyone else on Epinions agrees with my assertion of this product because the truth doesn't lie. Check up this product on Buy.com or Newegg, as either one will give you a great price with free or almost free shipping. Look for my USB Card Reader review in the coming weeks.

{ PRICE }
At $40, I couldn't have asked for anything more. A stellar warranty for a rock solid product only entices me to rate this even higher.

{ DESIGN }
Perfect. Built in cabling eliminates the need to buy external cables for expensive prices. The coloring (green/black) is new age and fits well into today's evolving desktops. The offset PS/2 ports are perfect and dongles for USB-->PS/2 work well on this KVM. The one thing that doesn't function is DVI---> Analog but I do not think this is an issue with the KVM.

{ FUNCTIONALITY }
For the techie or the casual user, both can use this unit with ease. Scroll lock changes PCs and the auto function is there for those who can make use of it. It does what I need it to do, and this is alone worth my $40 entrance fee.