Any advice on the USB switcher? I've had a hard time finding one that was of high enough quality to be a daily driver. I need USB3 for my webcam as well

This is the one I use:

UGREEN USB 3.0 Switch Selector 2... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6GD9JO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_shar...

I used a cheaper one before that but it was garbage - kept dropping inputs for a few seconds here and there.

Been using this one for a year, no issues so far https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MVXZM9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...

A USB hub is plugged into it, and all needed peripherals go into the hub first, including audio interface, external hard drive, printer etc.

I use this Tripp Lite USB 3.0 switch into a powered USB 3.0 hub: https://tripplite.eaton.com/4-port-superspeed-usb-3-peripher...

It's solid, boring, and works perfectly. I've never had a single problem with it, even with my X570 chipset constantly doing the old USB disconnect-a-roo that it's infamous for.

> I use a small USB switcher box

Came to the thread to post this in case it wasn’t posted. Quite a ton of actual utility from a small noname box from Amazon for my same-displays-but-different-sources setup (Mac mini for work, PC for gaming).

I use the MX Master mouse and keyboard with the Flow options in the Logi Options+ software to achieve a similar thing.

I use a 4-computer USB switch; it has 3 device inputs. So I can switch keyboard, trackball, and a vertical mouse between 4 computers at one desk. Pretty handy. Work laptop, personal/gaming laptop, linux laptop, and desktop/server.

With 2 monitors, I use one monitor exclusively with the linux laptop, and the other monitor I have on a HDMI switch to switch between the other 3 computers.

I use Microsoft Garage Mouse Without Borders[1] to control my old and new PC with one mouse/keyboard. Works over WiFi flawlessly for me. All you have to do is move the mouse cursor towards the monitor with the other computer(s) and it automatically switches.

[1]: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=354...

How do you switch video? Just change inputs on the monitor?

Yeah, and some monitors can be controlled to switch inputs from software, so you can setup hotkeys to do it just like a real KVM.

Yeah. It's not the greatest but KVM switches with video support drive up the cost quite a lot. I'll gladly press an extra button to switch the monitor input.

Thanks I figure its better quality to do this than try a kvm switch.

Oh yeah I have one of those no name brand USB switching hubs, they are great. Comes with several "illegal" USB-A male to male cables, which I find funny. If your monitor supports it you can also switch inputs from software, and you have a complete KVM setup without the ridiculously expensive KVM box.

Did you know that some monitors have built-in KVM nowadays? I discovered that recently and switched to one. Basically I can connect my laptop with a single USB-C cable for display/charging/peripherals and instantly switch to my desktop PC that is connected via HDMI + USB.

The fact that the monitor itself is responsible for display inputs removes all kind of problems that traditional KVM boxes have.

In theory the monitor could also switch headphones audio from one computer to the other, and it works, but the output quality is garbage. So I still have that cable to switch manually.

Cool! I thought my monitor had this but I tried it and it didn't work. Good to know that some of them work.

I have the same setup, with some speakers, and it works great. So happy with solution. I also use a DP instead of HDMI, so I can daisy-chain multiple monitors

I have the same setup and use the following software to send the switch signal to the monitor.

https://github.com/haimgel/display-switch

Learned about this on HN a few months ago. Less than 20 minutes to set it up with a cheapo USB KVM switch and it works great. I have a Model M keyboard plugged into a PS/2-USB adapter and the switches don't even confuse the keyboard.

I do this virtually with a piece od software called barrier. https://github.com/debauchee/barrier

It's not clear from the page, but there's an issue somewhere that points out barrier has been abandoned for a fork called input-leap.

https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap

Also recently learned about waynergy as a upcoming wayland client. Haven't used either yet as barrier still handles my setup.

For anyone curious, I think this is the issue,

https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap/issues/1414

I do the same thing, but I've got an USB-C monitor with an USB hub that has all my peripherals connected.

When switching from personal to work mode, I just swap the USB-C between computers.

Dunno if any USB-C switchers exist though.

I wish there were Thunderbolt 4 "KVMs". I have my laptop connected to my TB4 ThinkPad dock, which takes care of charging the laptop, attaches an external display over DisplayPort, has keyboard & mouse, external speakers, and has wired ethernet. When I switch to my desktop, I have to unplug the laptop from the dock and attach the desktop to the dock. It's a minor inconvenience, but it is an inconvenience, and it messes with the cable management.

A tb4 kvm would be nice. I use a dock with my 2 laptops primarily to split video and USB to use with a kvm I share with my desktop so I don't have to switch out mouse, keyboard, and headset between everything.

I will say my favorite accessory has been my particular KVM that allows me to switch between my dock and desktop with a special keyboard command. Beats fiddling directly with the many buttons I had to press on my monitor to switch video inputs previously.

I had the exact problem, and found and expensive but clean solution: I bought a U2723QE Dell screen, acting as a Hub. All my devices and RJ45 are plugged to the screen.

My laptop uses the charging USB-C port. My desktop requires 2 cables: 1 DP cable (so I can chain another screen) and 1 usb-c cable to the usb-c upstream port.

Whenever I want to switch, I just need to change the input source on my screen, between DP (desktop) or USB-C (laptop). All USB devices and internet are automatically routed to the right computer.

It works like a charm, really happy with this (but once again, that's an expensive screen)