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My primary computer is an iMac. I plan on getting a PC and a new monitor so I can use a KVM switch to share the keyboard, mouse, and monitor between the two computers. The new PC will be used solely for video games. I originally installed Windows 7 in Boot Camp on my iMac to play video games, but my iMac is outdated now and so a new PC would be the better long-term solution for gaming, since I can upgrade it whenever necessary.

However, I'm looking for an appropriate KVM switch to use to share between the two computers. Most KVM switches support only VGA, for instance, while the more expensive $100+ ones support DVI. Should VGA be sufficient, or should I go the digital route for the expensive DVI, especially when gaming and watching HD videos, etc.?

Also, should something like this be sufficient, or should I get one of the "gaming" KVMs like this one, which IOGEAR's support themselves recommended to me? Although, it's $300+, so it's very, very expensive in my opinion, so if it's not necessary then I'd rather avoid it. I've heard that something basic such as this is also sufficient in most cases, and it even supports HDMI, which should be better than DVI.

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  • It won't make a huge different either way. We don't do product recomendations so I won't comment on specific options your looking at. If you have more then one monitor the first option only supports a single monitor.
    – Ramhound
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 18:25
  • Well, I technically have two monitors, but the iMac will be connected to the KVM, which in turn will be connected to the second monitor. So the KVM only needs a single output.
    – Gary
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 18:30

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VGA should be fine. VGA supports a resolution of up 2048 × 1536. Depending on the monitor you are using this should be more than enough even for gaming or watching HD quality videos. You would need to make sure you are getting good quality equipment that supports this resolution. For example, if you get a cheap and nasty KVM switch that has very little bandwidth available then it may not be able to reach the resolution you require.

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    That resolution is definitely enough for me; 1920 x 1080 is standard and that's what I'm using now, and I'm happy with it so I don't plan on going higher. I just included a link to an HDMI KVM as well in my original post, which is relatively cheap at $60. That should be sufficient for my case I imagine, then? The reviews for all three products that I linked to are pretty good.
    – Gary
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 18:12
  • That looks like it would do the job for you. It seems to have gotten a few negative reviews so probably best to take a read of those and see if you are still happy with it.
    – Darcon
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 18:19
  • Yeah thanks, I'll see what the worst thing that is said about each KVM to see if I'm fine with those complaints or not.
    – Gary
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 18:30

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