DVI problems - KVM for mac pro?

[DJenkins]

Hey guys, recently purchased a Belkin 4 port KVM... this thing is terrible. Model F1DD104L

Belkin specifically states support for Mac OSX systems, however the current corded Apple aluminium keyboard and optical mouse do not work at all.

Keyboard is not recognised at all by the system... and inputs the character 'z' permanently.

Mouse is jumping all over the place.

Leaving artifacts all over my screen in the dark areas.

Their excuse is the product works with OSX, just not Apple peripherals. Seeking RMA now, what a nightmare!

Looking for anyone who has gone through this before and found a solution that works with switching macs.

I will need DVI-D DUAL LINK as my monitor is the 30" 2560x1600 Apple cinema display.

Plus USB switching.

Audio not as important as I can do this with my amplifier but I guess most KVMs have this included.

Looking at ATEN, Gefen, ServerLink, IOgear etc.

Budget is $300.

Also does anyone know if I will need a DVI booster to get rid of these screen artifacts or will a decent KVM help?

Thanks!

Danny

 

[ActionableMango]

I tried a few units that worked very very badly. I don't know why KVMs are such pieces of unreliable crap.

Eventually I settled on the StarTech StarView which worked okay for the most part. It was expensive but supported my monitor's resolution.

There were problems though.

Every few weeks the unit would lose its mind and I would have to reboot it by pulling all power including USB connection to the computers.

The dedicated keyboard and USB ports only enabled my keyboard and mouse to act in very basic modes. The mouse wouldn't report itself as a fancy logitech mouse, it would only act as a 2-button scroll wheel mouse. Likewise while the keyboard worked, none of the special function keys on the keyboard did.

Strangely enough, the mouse and keyboard would act as their normal selves if I plugged them into the USB hub part of the KVM switch, so I was able to use them that way. They were only gimped in the dedicated keyboard/mouse USB ports.

The third problem is that the mouse and keyboard, when plugged into the USB hub ports of the KVM switch, acted as if they were unplugged and plugged in every time I switched. So there was a delay of 2-3 seconds after every switch waiting for the computer to recognize them. This delay did not occur in the keyboard/mouse dedicated USB ports.

Except for those specific problems, it did work with the monitor, keyboard, mouse, Windows, and OS X.

 

[Reddog99]

I'd vote for Genfen. I've been using one of their monitor switches for probably close to 8-10 years. The unit is reliable and the video quality is the same as without the switch.