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I have a personal gaming desktop and work laptop that need to share all of the following devices and be switchable by a KVM (or at least a single cable swap):

  • 2K monitor
  • USB Keyboard
  • USB Mouse (wireless)
  • Ethernet connection
  • USB headset (wireless)
  • USB printer
  • USB webcam
  • USB speakers
  • Possibly an additional USB 3.0 hub

There are no KVM switches I've found that will support that many devices, so I am wondering if there is a way to also incorporate a docking station that is then switchable by the KVM.

Is this even possible? The only thing I can think of doing is using a docking station for all my device connections and plugging its "to host" cable into the mouse/keyboard port of the KVM, but I have no idea if that would actually work.

A few other details:

I do not have administrative rights on my work laptop, so I would not be able to install any driver software there.

My video connections should be HDMI or DisplayPort.

I am not asking for specific product recommendations, but just an idea of what kind of setup would work for this and whether a KVM/docking station combo is even possible.

EDIT: I know that I could use a KVM switch AND a USB switch, but would like to avoid having two separate switches to manage unless that turns out to be the best option.

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A KVM with a built-in USB 3.0 hub in addition to mouse and keyboard ports may support an additional self-powered USB hub to add more devices. I wouldn't bother with a docking station as connecting it to your gaming PC bypasses your GPU. I haven't seen a KVM with ethernet, so an unmanaged ethernet switch would work for that and you could leave both PCs connected at the same time. Here's a hypothetical map of how I would set things up to connect all the devices in your question to 2 PCs and 1 monitor:

setup map

The only thing I'm a bit uncertain about is how well the KVM with built in USB 3.0 hub will handle the additional hubs. It should work, but I haven't tried. If you try that and it doesn't work, you could add a USB 3.0 switch to switch the USB hub(s) with all the devices besides the mouse an keyboard. With the USB hubs, make sure to get ones with their own power supplies. Also, use the shortest possible and highest quality cables for best connectivity.

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  • Seems promising, except I can't find a single KVM that offers an additional USB 3.0 port. Will keep looking; seems there are only about 5-10 total KVM models on the market right now that actually remember what the V stands for. Lots of USB switchers, though.
    – Zephyr
    Commented Mar 12, 2021 at 21:05
  • @Zephyr - I saw a couple on Amazon by CKLau and Tripp Lite. Not sure which is better, but they both have M+K USB ports + 2 USB 3.0 Device ports. One thing to be aware of with USB KVM switches is the M+K USB ports may not support special button pass-through if your mouse or keyboard has special functions.
    – Blaelph
    Commented Mar 16, 2021 at 0:39
  • I ended up going with the Tripp Lite KVM. Very few reviews but the specs look good. I'm in the process of setting everything up now (so many wires!). I'll let you know how it turns out.
    – Zephyr
    Commented Mar 16, 2021 at 0:43
  • The Tripp Lite KVM works pretty darn well. The media keys on the keyboard function. I also have both a powered USB-3 and unpowered USB-2 hubs plugged into the KVM and they're working for the most part too. I don't have much plugged into them yet so I can't attest to the overall bandwidth available, but I'm pleased with the setup. Thank you for your input!
    – Zephyr
    Commented Mar 16, 2021 at 4:18
  • You're welcome. I'm happy to hear your setup is working for you.
    – Blaelph
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 1:18

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