IOGEAR GCS1644 4-Port Dual View Dual-Link DVI KVMP Switch with Audio

Pros: electrically, it connects to 4 dual dvi computers

Cons: Cant switch from one computer to the other via keyboard. Is says scroll lock twice then the number but I use wireless Logitech keyboards. Best I can determine is croll lock is fn + pause break but this dont work.

Have to manually push the buttons.

Linkskey was MUCH better

Manufacturer Response:

First, thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for your experience. Our KVM’s emulate a standard 102 key, keyboard and generic 2-button scroll wheel mouse. The reason for this emulation is to allow the hot key functions to operate. A side effect of the emulation is that in most cases the special key sequences required for gamming, and key programming will not translate correctly through the KVM, for gamming we recommend connecting directly to the computer.

Although our KVMs will work with most wireless keyboard mouse sets, we cannot promise an individual multimedia / programmable keyboard and mouse set will work through the KVM.

Due to the large number of manufacturer's and each manufacturer's wide range of models it is impossible to maintain any meaningful compatibility list.
Again, thank you for choosing IOGEAR

Pros: TL;DR: Best thing since sliced bread.

Just Works
Nicely packaged
Built like a TANK, yet stylish
Doesn't generate much if any heat
Good documentation
ALL provided cables are built well and have tight connections
Supports my Mac, Linux, and Windows PCs flawlessly
Supports my "gaming" equipment (Filco keyboard, WoW mouse) with mouse emulation disabled
Lots of configuration options
Front panel audio in addition to back panel is handy for switching between headphones and stereo.

Cons: Audio is consumer grade, but still usable for day-to-day: slight whirring sound in the MIC input and some cross-channel bleed between MIC and OUT.

Pros: Dual DVI monitors, audio (if you need that), USB 2.0

Cons: My keyboard and mouse did not work in any capacity when connected via the "standard" keyboard and mouse ports.

Other Thoughts: This is my second iogear KVM and this one is a vast improvement on the one I had before, technically. I really like both, but my G500 mouse and Corsair K60 keyboard do not work AT ALL via the GCS1644's keyboard and mouse ports.

I expected some compatibility for the keyboard via the keyboard port on the KVM, maybe the loss of media buttons or something similar (which is perfect fine by me) but the keyboard failed to work on any of the four systems I have connected. Moving the keyboard to the straight USB 2.0 port on the back of the unit gave me full keyboard functionality (and media buttons) but I've ate up the one extra port on the rear of the KVM and I've lost soft-key control of the KVM.

The same story for my Logitech G500 - I expected some level of functionality via the mouse port, however it will not track on the x-axis at all on any of the systems when connected to the GCS1644's mouse port. Moving the mouse to the straight USB 2.0 port also brought back all functionality.

To get by for now I have connected my mouse and keyboard via a USB hub to the USB 2.0 port and I simply will work without the soft-key control over the KVM (that wasn't overly critical to me anyway.) I just count myself lucky that I had a USB hub lying around that I could use since there is only the one USB 2.0 port on the rear of the unit.

In all fairness, I sent a message to iogear support this morning via email so hopefully they will have a recommendation or a method of disabling the USB emulation via the keyboard/mouse ports on the rear of the unit so I can at least get off the USB hub.

All in all, it's a great KVM, dual monitor DVI is HUGE in my book and USB 2.0 is too (my last KVM was USB 1.1 and VGA but it lasted 12+ years too.)

I'd buy it again, just be aware you may have issues with the keyboard and mouse ports unless you are using the most vanilla of keyboards and mice.

Pros: KVM was simple to set up and worked with no problems. I like it a lot. It is the first KVM I have not found some sort of switching or usage problem with my variety of machines

Cons: USB mouse and Keyboard must be wired to use hot-key switching. Wireless keyboard/mouse do not work on the main inputs. They do work fine with a USB hub on the shared USB connection but they will not hot-key like that. Solution is to have a good wired keyboard and mouse if you want to use hot-key switching.

Pros: Supports both of my Dell P2312 Monitors with no problems.
Switching is fluid.
Hot keys are great.
USB 2.0

Cons: Media keys don't work on keyboard but it does state in the manual that it supports standard 102 key keyboard.

Other Thoughts: As someone else mentioned, my laptop has an HDMI and VGA output. I bought and HDMI to DVI adapter for $15 and it works fine. I also bought a sabrent USB to DVI external Video card($55) to add a second digital connection to my laptop and that works fine as well.
My wireless mouse didn't work correctly when plugged into the mouse port in the back, however once i turned off Mouse Emulation it worked fine, there is an occasional mouse delay every once in a while when switching machines, probably due to mouse emulation being turned off but it doesn't happen often and when it does it is less than 20 seconds.

My keyboard is wired, was thinking about getting a wireless one but i want to borrow one form a friend to test it first to make sure that with wireless keyboard that hot key switching will work.

Would have given it 5 stars if there was better support for wireless keyboard/mouse. They do say on the site/manual that wireless keyboard mouse not supported/may not work.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for the inconvenience. The GCS1644 is packaged with DVI-D KVM cables only and will only pass a digital signal. The DVI to VGA connector does not convert digital to analog for you VGA setup. The GCS1644 is capable of analog and digital signals but this will only work if you change the KVM cable to a DVI-I KVM cable. To better service you and understand your set up, please feel to contact our customer support at 1-866-946-4327 or email us: support@iogear.com. Once again, thank you for choosing IOGEAR

Pros: 1) Don't need to have the PC selected when Powering up.
2) Don't need to wait until PC completely powered down before switching focus.
3) No problems with PC not seeing second monitor during boot.
4) No Problem locking in at highest resolution.
5) Never detects monitor as "Generic".
6) switches audio
7) USB instead of PS2
8) Lighter, more flexible cables.
9) Back panel not as cramped.
10) Complete port switching capability from front panel, including jumping directly to any port.

Cons: 1) When switching to next PC, it doesn't skip unconnected ports.
2) Can only go one direction when switching to next port. (Linkskey had [Scroll Lock][Scroll Lock][Up] and [Scroll Lock][Scroll Lock][Down]).
3) Text on front control panel is way too small and very hard to read. Impossible to read if light angle not just right.

Other Thoughts: My Pros and Cons are specifically related to the comparison with the Linkskey LDV-DM04ESK. I have 3 computers and the Linkskey always had trouble with two out of three of them. The GCS1644 has no problems with any of them. Each computer has the same video card (PNY NVIDIA Quadro NVS 295) but a different ASUS motherboard.

The IOGear is much more robust than the Linkskey. In order to get the Linkskey to work, you have to conform to its quirks. If you didn't exactly coordinate the powering up of the PCs with the port selection, the Linkskey would not function correctly. I have no powering up or down limitations with the IOGear. On the Linkskey, I had to reduce the resolution on one PC to get it to reliably power up with video. I used the Linkskey every day for four years, in a mission critical capacity, so it will let you get your work done. However, The IOGear GCS1644 is superior.

While the cons are minor, compared to the pros, I gave it a 4 since the cons are annoying.

Pros: This switch is perfect for my needs. I have 1 desktop and 2 different laptops that I have hooked up to this interface using HDMI to DVI connectors. It switches quickly and even works with my wireless keyboard and mouse. Resolution is great as I am running two 1080p 26" monitors for video and graphic work. I love the front panel USB as I can transfer files quickly between computers without removing the USB stick. For the 2nd monitor on one of the laptops i use a USB 3.0 to DVI converter and it works great with this setup.

Cons: Wish that I could use wireless keyboard for quick switching. I have to switch over to a wired keyboard to get that ability. Hope a firmware update addresses that issue in the future. Also the 2nd monitor on one of the laptops is not connected so it throws my monitor into sleep mode and it takes 30 seconds for the color to come back after it goes into sleep mode. I just turned off the sleep function on that monitor so its not a issue, but wish it just blacked out the 2nd screen to keep it active when 2 screens are not connected.

Other Thoughts: Would really like the ability to hold the audio in one computer while I'm working with the 2nd without using the keyboard quick keys. The front panel should have at ability, but it doesn't.

Pros: Supports dual monitors, has 4 inputs, works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Also has good audio support, though I don't do much with that. Hot-key support is great and makes it very easy to move between all 4 inputs.

Cons: It occasionally flakes out when switching between inputs. The keyboard and mouse are always fine, but one of my monitors (Apple 23" monitors) will show the picture for about 2 seconds, and then go blank. I have to switch to another input, then switch back, and it usually starts working again. It's not a killer or anything, just a bit annoying on occasion. I have this switch on multiple setups, and I've seen the problem manifest on each of the KVM with varying frequency.

Other Thoughts: Even with the monitor issue, this is by far the most reliable and easy to use KVM I've ever had. I would highly recommend it.

Pros: I use this KVM with my Dell 30" Monitor which I run at 2560x1600 and this KVM worked great for two years. I literally plugged in the cables, shoved it behind my monitor and forgot about it. Hotkey switching worked great.

Cons: After two years both of the USB ports for the keyboard and the mouse failed completely. Anything I plug into those ports now fails to be picked up by any computer on the other end of the kvm (windows or linux). Unfortunately these are the only ports where the "scrl-lock/scrl-lock #" hotkeys work on. The unit is under warranty however (See below).

Other Thoughts: IOGear Warranty replacement procedure isn't very customer friendly. You have to fax in the make/model/serial/contact info and then they will issue an RMA, there is no advanced replacement option available. I don't know about you, but if you rely on a $480 kvm with 4 ports, being without it tends to be unpleasant.

Pros: Dual monitors worked with ease and sound as well

Cons: What IOGEAR fails to mention is that they do NOT guarantee any video adapters to work. So for those that have dual VGA monitors be aware! I have 2 HP w2207h which only have VGA and HDMI inputs, not DVI-D. This unit has DVI-I connections BUT only sends a digital signal. All cables in this box are DVI-D. So the DVI-I to VGA adapters will not work. I learned the hard way. However, DVI-D Male to HDMI female adapter worked fine. picked up 2 for $15 each.... gave 4 eggs because of LACKING information on adapters

Other Thoughts: IF you have to contact their support, i recommend you do the email option. I called them 2x and was a pain as you got someone that had no idea what I was talking about and english lacking

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for choosing IOGEAR and sorry about your experience. In fact we have posted a tilt on our website teaching how to connect a VGA computer to a DVI Desktop KVM. We have attached the link as below for your reference. If you have any further question, please feel free to contact us at 1(866)946-4327 and we would be glad to assist you. Once again, thank you for choosing IOGEAR.

External Link(s):

IOGEAR Tech Info Library & FAQ|