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A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

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Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#11

Post by shackattack »

wbond wrote: post #9
shackattack wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the author of the post. Good point– it's definitely more of a 2560p+ than a real 4K display. I was tempted by the UP3214Q, but 32" just seems way to big for my needs, both from a desk-space perspective but also because of PPI. What I like about my retina macbook is that it's 2560x1600 on a 13" screen (227ppi) vs the Dell's 140ppi. The other win here is just the ease of switching inputs– if there was a standalone…

No problem - at first glance I thought the res looked pretty high, however once I started doing some quick math it didn't add up. Yeah, I haven't seen any TB2 docks yet. Most seem to be just TB1. In my specific case I use the wireless keyboard and trackpad, so it ends up just being the minidp cable, power and headphones. Which granted is more than just a single TB cable, but not too bad. In terms of the PPI, the effe…

This is maybe an option, if it ever ships:

http://zenboxx.com/

Combines power, USB, and thunderbolt in a single adapter.

I use a wireless keyboard as well, but the value to me is being able to switch peripherals between a mac and a pc without a bunch of unplugging. Someone below suggested Synergy, though, which I might try.

Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#13

Post by shackattack »

jrockway wrote: post #10
shackattack wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the author of the post. Good point– it's definitely more of a 2560p+ than a real 4K display. I was tempted by the UP3214Q, but 32" just seems way to big for my needs, both from a desk-space perspective but also because of PPI. What I like about my retina macbook is that it's 2560x1600 on a 13" screen (227ppi) vs the Dell's 140ppi. The other win here is just the ease of switching inputs– if there was a standalone…

You can just use Synergy. It will turn off the display that the keyboard and mouse aren't on, so the monitor will hopefully auto-switch to the other input. Failing that, most monitors have a serial command interface, so you can just tell the monitor to switch inputs when the keyboard and mouse move to the other display. You're right though, there are no acceptable DisplayPort KVMs for less than $700.

Is synergy smooth enough for gaming?

Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#14

Post by wbond »

shackattack wrote: post #11
wbond wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No problem - at first glance I thought the res looked pretty high, however once I started doing some quick math it didn't add up. Yeah, I haven't seen any TB2 docks yet. Most seem to be just TB1. In my specific case I use the wireless keyboard and trackpad, so it ends up just being the minidp cable, power and headphones. Which granted is more than just a single TB cable, but not too bad. In terms of the PPI, the effe…

This is maybe an option, if it ever ships: http://zenboxx.com/ Combines power, USB, and thunderbolt in a single adapter. I use a wireless keyboard as well, but the value to me is being able to switch peripherals between a mac and a pc without a bunch of unplugging. Someone below suggested Synergy, though, which I might try.

That does look interesting. It appears it is pass-through for the thunderbold/minidp and power, but then the audio and USB are from the USB. Thanks for the link!

Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#15

Post by gatehouse »

nsxwolf wrote: post #12

What is daily life like with a monitor that wide? I'd be curious to try it instead of a dual setup, but the inability to angle both halves of the monitors looks like it might cause viewing comfort issues up close.

Someone posted about it on reddit and there was a lot of discussion: http://www.reddit.com/r/battlestations/comments/24qmtf/just_...

Also this video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnrxNfxRK_4

One thing to note is that is an IPS panel it has a much wider viewing angle than an ordinary TN panel. This video demonstrates via camera movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWXcNlh85Ps

I'm thinking about getting this screen for my game/workstation but I haven't decided yet.

Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#16

Post by wbond »

shackattack wrote: post #13
jrockway wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can just use Synergy. It will turn off the display that the keyboard and mouse aren't on, so the monitor will hopefully auto-switch to the other input. Failing that, most monitors have a serial command interface, so you can just tell the monitor to switch inputs when the keyboard and mouse move to the other display. You're right though, there are no acceptable DisplayPort KVMs for less than $700.

Is synergy smooth enough for gaming?

In my experience Synergy is a little wonky. It gets you about 90% of the way to what you want.

However, for gaming I would think it would be tough - I would think it would be easy to accidentally switch back to the other machine in the middle of the game.

Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#17

Post by seanalltogether »

"it's a very compelling alternative to a thunderbolt display, especially for those that have a lightweight mac alongside a cheap gaming PC"

This is the exact situation I've been trying to solve for awhile now, I wonder how many other devs have this same issue.

Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#18

Post by vkjv »

shackattack wrote: post #13
jrockway wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can just use Synergy. It will turn off the display that the keyboard and mouse aren't on, so the monitor will hopefully auto-switch to the other input. Failing that, most monitors have a serial command interface, so you can just tell the monitor to switch inputs when the keyboard and mouse move to the other display. You're right though, there are no acceptable DisplayPort KVMs for less than $700.

Is synergy smooth enough for gaming?

Just make sure your inputs are connected to the machine you do gaming on. If you do gaming on both, then this might not be an option.

Re: A monitor with a built-in thunderbolt 2 KVM

#19

Post by roto »

wbond wrote: post #16
shackattack wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is synergy smooth enough for gaming?

In my experience Synergy is a little wonky. It gets you about 90% of the way to what you want. However, for gaming I would think it would be tough - I would think it would be easy to accidentally switch back to the other machine in the middle of the game.

You can hit scroll lock to lock the mouse to 1 screen. As long as you game on the synergy server machine there is no problems.
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