Pros: This is a nice piece of hardware.; the quality of the device is high. Its compact but heavy and stays in place when you physically push a switch button. But why, my friend, use a button when you have hotkeys? Sweet, sweet hotkeys so easy to use.

iogear put some though into the usability of this KVM. The device can switch only the audio or only the monitor or only the keyboard/mouse... or switch all at once.. or switch combinations such as monitor and key/mouse but not the audio. And you don't need to cycle through all (un)available inputs; you can jump directly to a specific input, all without your hands ever leaving your keyboard. True flexibility.

The cables are good quality and fused together; my under-desk cable management got a lot simpler.

Setup was as easy as plugging everything in. No software with Win 7 Pro 64bit you just plug in and play on.

Cons: Cables aren't gold plated, but then you didn't pay for that, did you?

The only thin worth mentioning is you can't back the rear edge of the switch flush with the very edge of the desk as the rear cables lift the front edge up about 5 degrees. The solution is to pull it away from the edge about two inches; the cables relax, straighten out and the switch sits level, steady and firm.

Its pretty much a non-starter but thought you should know in case you have some crazy spec to meet. However, in this "not-really-a-con" you should also read good things about the quality of the cables themselves.

Other Thoughts: My workspace has a personal gaming machine, a work notebook (on a dock/replicator) and client notebooks rotating in and out. Am I able to jam soundcloud through one pc, and work on second? You betcha. Dropping a corporate notebook into the switch is so easy the client can do it themselves. (I know, I'm jaded.)

Update 2016... it finally died. 4 years of hardcore abuse and the internal connections at the power source died. Too complicated to dismantle and solder so I bought a new one (2 port this time as my needs are reduced). oh yeah.

Pros: Set-up was very easy, and everything worked perfectly right out-of-the-box. Unlike some of the previous reviewers, I didn't need to do any voodoo to get the mouse to work properly, and I didn't need to do any firmware updates. So, I'm thinking that the Iogear folk took the previous reviews to heart, and fixed the problems.

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: I currently have it set up with three Macs, and it works great. Recommended purchase.

Pros: One of the better DVI KVMs on the market, even better now with Power-On detection toggling.

Cons: Firmware turnaround time needs improvement. I think this is due to internal company management not approving these changes fast enough, not hardware complexity.

Other Thoughts: It only took 2 plus years, but Iogear "finally" enabled Power-On detection toggling. A little story to show how Iogear does business:

My past experience with Iogear KVMs is that the port stays on that port when the computer is turned off. The GCS1104 has Power-On detection, so it jumps to the next port when the current port powers off or when it thinks it has turned off. You could not toggle this function off in firmware V1.2.113. This forces you to switch back to the port everytime you power down, which has added up to hundreds of keyboard port selections at this point and very annoying.

Reading showed user Chad on 6/29/2012 (on newegg) originally got a response from Iogear saying "The firmware for the GCS1104 is in the process of being updated. This update should be available tomorrow on the IOGEAR website.". Good enough for me keep the unit and explore the product further.

Although I purchased the item on 2/2013, I found out after some time that Iogear had not updated the firmware back in 2012. When I emailed them, they said Power-On detection was a feature they could not disable. They did take time to remove their response from Chad's review (that I pointed out to them as reference), which is not cool. At this point I just lived with it, since other KVMs did not offer what I was looking for in other areas.

Just for kicks I checked their website to see what changes have been made, lo and behold, there it was. It was released on 10/14/2014 as firmware V1.2.117 "Power-On Detection Off/On toggle hotkey added". I just installed the update and it works. Wow, I don't have to switch ports on power downs anymore! Make the changes, review the output with HSM + [F4] to see the power on detection status:

"hotkey:
[num lock]+[-] and [ctrl],[ctrl]

os setting:
port1 auto-detect
port2 auto-detect
port3 auto-detect
port4 auto-detect
mouse emulation: on
button settings: mode1 [default]
power on detection: off"

The manual has not been updated to reflect this HSM configuration toggle "HSM + [e] enter", it is only mentioned in the firmware release notes. Iogear is losing cred as you can see in some of the lower reviews due to this feature. Good product relative to the competition, but common sense service and firmware turnaround needs improvement.

Give them another 2 years to update the manual I guess, which is still from 2009 :-)

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for the inconvenience. This was a special firmware that had to be created by the engineers. We did not have many requests for turning off power detection so it was not officially posted at IOGEAR.com until last year. I will forward your comments to the product engineers. Once again, thank you for choosing IOGEAR.

Pros: Not much

Cons: The audio port is so poorly shielded that I can hear constant crackling in my headphones, and the usb ports are so unreliable that my keyboard drops keystrokes and my mouse frequently disconnects and reconnects. I sent it back within 3 hours of getting it.

Manufacturer Response:

First, thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for your experience. The Audio port is not poorly shielded on this device. With some Audio devices connected you may get static or popping. This can usually be corrected with a simple ground loop isolator. Again, thank you for choosing IOGEAR.

Pros: Works has advertised. Have been using going on 3 years, works with wireless keyboard and mouse (see note below) speakers and headsets.

Cons: Due to its lite weight moves/shifts easy on desk with all cables connected.

Due to the order of booting some motherboards will not allow booting up into BIOS at startup. This is common with KVMs and even with some wireless keyboards. Cannot take off points for that but you will need to plug keyboard directly into computer to use BIOS features.

Other Thoughts: I use this with 4 computers running Windows 7, 8.1, and XP systems. I have a Logitech 510 wireless keyboard and mouse connected to front port and works without problems. Connect to 2.1 speakers and a 1920X1080, 24" LCD. Headset jack in front works great.

Pros: My new employer uses Macs so my old PS2/VGA KVM solution between my old work PC and my personal PC wasn't going to cut it. I decided to cut the cord and move to a USB/DVI solution to get something that worked for my new Mac and my home PC (Win 7).

Unlike my old bus-powered KVM, this one has an external power adapter and is built very well. I had to construct a small shelf under my desk to put the KVM on it. I also went with the 4port model since I might be moving my Linux box from the basement up to my office. The price difference between the 2port and the 4port wasn't huge.

I hooked up my standard PC keyboard and my Logitech USB wheel mouse and after a few driver updates in Windows, I was off and running. Worked great. I then hooked up my Mac with a Thunderbolt to HDMI & HDMI to DVI adapters (yes, I know I can get a single adapter but this is what I have). That worked great. The wheel mouse worked great (I think the KVM is emulating it but I'm not sure). I'll miss a few things about my Apple MagicMouse, but no big deal. I'll keep it for when I'm on the road.

Cons: It is hard to tell which firmware version you have. The 'list out current settings' function (HSM + [F4]) does not show that. They should have that output list the model # and the installed firmware version. I was finally able to determine that IOGEAR encodes the version in the USB device name. I had '113'. The latest on the website is '117'. The release notes for '117' simply list the changes since the last version. I couldn't figure out the set of changes between '113' and '117'. I contacted support and they said the prior versions where to deal with bugs with certain keyboards and mice and if it was working for me, then I should not update. Really? How do I know that? For all I know the bugs fixed were dealing with timing issues or random hangs, etc that I might have have seen yet (I'm only just a few days into my usage). So I went again and updated to '117' with no problem following the instructions in the manual. Version '117' did add power-on detection but the release notes didn't really explain it. I found the same feature in other IOGEAR KVM manuals. They should go back and update the manual.

Pros: Reliable. excellent cables, reliable hot keys

Cons: Does not work with all motherboards during BIOS post. This means that you will not be able to get into the BIOS on certain systems. My MSI motherboards seen to work well, but not my Biostar or Gigabyte systems. The only workaround that I have found is to plug a KB and mouse directly into the motherboard (bypassing the KVM). Once Widows loads all works well.

Other Thoughts: I chatted with the manufacturer's technician and he said the the problem was with the motherboard (BIOS) and not with the KVM. No remedy offered.

Pros: DVI ports with DVI-D Connectors. fits new LCDs and Video Cards.
Fast Switch and Easy to use.

Cons: It produces too much heat. approx. ~ 80 F - 90 F at the bottom of the device.

the usb port for mouse and keyboard may not work with mouse.

Other Thoughts: I gave it 2 eggs cause of the problems of the usb and the mouse. It may need a firmware update, but there is not new firmware update. Now it gets ridiculous when you want to update the firmware of the devide. you need to plug a computer directly with the monitor, mose and keyboard and usb to the KVM in other to update the firmware. to update firmware, your keyboard have to be connected to your kvm first then you need to press num lock + - then release num lock then type "u p g r a d e" no quotes. Then click on the firmware update software that you can download from iogear.com. I tried this before calling iogear. and It did not work.

Then, I call iogear and talk to one of their technitians. which told me to try to plug the mouse in a different computer to test my mouse (???). then told to try the kvm in a different computer (???). then told me sorry your kvm is defective. So I order a new one and received 2 days after and guess what. same thing. I would recommend to buy insurance from newegg just in case this device dies on you.

Now the mouse works on a different usb port of the kvm but it does not work in the set usb port for mouse. but now all your usb have to switch to the next computer you are using by pressing and holding, instead of just pressing and the keyboard mouse and monitor switches.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for your experience. The GCS1104 has built in mouse emulation, meaning it is looking for a basic wired 2 button mouse. No guarantee with anything else. This emulation can be turned off with HSM settings through the KVM. The sequence described above would be to get into these settings. Also some of the suggestions above you were asked to try are basic troubleshooting steps since this is a plug and play device. With the emulation off it should work with almost all mice. This would be the same as the usb peripheral ports on the KVM with the emulation turned off. The Upgrade process would not work if you are already at the latest level of firmware. The GCS1102 and GCS1104 are very hot selling KVM's with a very low failure rate. If you cannot change ports with using hot key commands from your keyboard, the keyboard may not be compatible with the emulation of the KVM. 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: Being used with a Win8 PC, Win7 laptop, and a Mac Mini. Does everything as advertised. No problems with audio, video, keyboard or mouse. I'm using an HP LCD monitor, a MS keyboard, and a logitech mouse.

Cons: Lots of wires but knew that going in.

Other Thoughts: My PC & Laptop didn't recognize the Logitech mouse at first but all I had to do is unplug the mouse from the mouse console port and plug it in to the extra USB 2.0 port that also gets switched. After that it worked flawless.

Pros: I've been using this for awhile now and haven't had any issues. Easy to switch between two computers.

Cons: Couldn't get it to work with acer timelineX laptop vga port.