IOGEAR GCS634UW6 MiniView 4-Port USB KVM Switch

Pros: Works with USB. Also switches sound. Compact. Self-Contained.

Cons: There is a rare occasion where this unit may fail to load the drivers necessary for it to run. I ommitted no stars for this as I feel fairly confident that the problem exists in updated Windows installations as opposed to a fault within the device. On these occasions, I keep a second "PS2" keyboard and mouse around to use on the affected PC until I get it updated.

Other Thoughts: I had purchased many KVM devices trying to save a buck before purchasing this one. Several of them never worked from day 1. This one has worked far beyond my original expectations and has done so now for over 5 years. I only have one workbench and keep this unit in operation 24/7. Please IOGEAR, if you decide to discontinue this product let us know! I will need to purchase at least a couple of spares!

Pros: I just replaced a unit that lasted 8 years. Went with this Iogear because there were a lot of good reviews. Recieved the unit 2 days before I was expecting it, but I have had this happen on other orders from Newegg. Setup was quick and easy. The cords were plenty long enough to all of my PCs. Hotkeys work great. This is a solid KVM for the money.

Cons: No buttons to manually switch between PCs. The indicator lights are kind of hard to read at a glance.

Other Thoughts: Since I've only had the KVM for 1 day I will update my review after more experience with it. All in all a solid device out of the box.

Pros: It looks nice
Easy to set up
Switches relatively fast

Cons: After about a week of use, I began to notice a lot of horizontal lines moving vertically. I tried disconnecting the kvm switch to see if it was my monitor, but there is no issue without the kvm switch for either computer.

The manual says using the hot keys [scroll lock][scroll lock][k][enter] will switch the video/keyboard/mouse while keeping the sound of the current computer. This feature will not work for me.

The VGA cables and connectors feel really cheap.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for the inconvenience. 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: Well built and functions flawlessly for me. The best bargain I could find for a reasonably priced 4 port switch w/ audio. Using the unit to switch between 3 systems and still have a spare input for when I need to connect an additional system for maintenance.

Cons: KVM switches that have cable connections on more than just the backside of the box, makes for a messy table / desk top. Iogear should have put built-in keyhole slots in the bottom of the unit to facilitate wall mounting of the unit.

Other Thoughts: Some newer keyboards don't have the rather obsolete Scroll Lock key required by this unit to control the switch.
This unit likely will work best with your basic, non special function, keyboard.

Pros: After some fiddling around it worked with my desktop box. The desktop box is a boot-dual with Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. I can access the BIOS settings and everything.

Cons: My Lenovo laptop docking station does not "work". The laptop is an dual-boot box with Windows XP and Linux like the desktop box. Linux is the default OS. When I start the laptop, I do not see anything on the screen until the operating system is finished booting. I have to restart the laptop to see the BIOS start screen and the boot menu to select operating systems.

After contacting Customer Support, I was told they do not "guarantee" the unit will work with laptop docking stations. Nice to know earlier.

Other Thoughts: Ironically the laptop docking station works with the DCS1734 KVM perfectly. I'm not sure why this unit does not want to work the same way as an older unit works.

Customer Support was prompt with their replies to email inquiries. Their responsiveness earned them the bulk of the eggs. Think carefully about buying this unit.

Manufacturer Response:

First, thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for your experience. Let me explain the reason we cannot guarantee the use of docking station with an emulated KVM switch.

In order for hot key operation and instantaneous recognition of the keyboard and mouse when switching computers, our KVMs emulate a standard wired 102 key keyboard and wired generic 2-button scroll wheel mouse. We can not guarantee the use of wireless (including Bluetooth), multifunction, gaming, integrated card readers, or programmable keyboards and mice. This KVM also requires a mouse and keyboard be connected to their respective console ports, so we cannot guarantee the use of docking stations, port replicators or USB / PS2 adapters. Again, thank you for choosing IOGEAR

Pros: Worked great for about 45 minutes. IOGear seems to stand behind their products.
They responded to my email within 2 business days with a support ticket. Which, in my experience is an outstanding response time.

Cons: This switch worked great for about 45 then began to show visual anomalies. It starts slow with only a slight blurring in places and a few rows of pixels sliding to the right about a 1/4 of an inch.
After it starts, within a few minutes the whole screen is doing it and it's so bad I can barely find the shutdown button in the start menu.
Per IOGears instructions I tried different keyboards/mice/monitors. Nothing helped.

Other Thoughts: Unfortunately I can't rma this to newegg since we moved right after i bought it and wasn't setup again to use it until after the 30day time limit. Just bad luck I guess.
Now I have to fax my proof of purchase (Not a huge deal but a pain since I don't have easy access to a fax.)
Then package the switch up and pay (I bought this thing to SAVE money) to ship it to IOGear.

Manufacturer Response:

First, thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for your experience. The product should not behave as you described. if you have any other concerns, 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: I'm a computer technician and use this KVM >>EVERY DAY<< I've used it with over 100 PC's comin' and goin' since I bought it, and it's worked well on all. Even laptops. It's small, easy, and it WORKS... That and the fact it's ~$50, the bang-per-buck it outstanding!

Cons: Does NOT act as a USB pass-through switch. This means that my G15 keyboard isn't 100% compatible. It works, but not many of the special buttons (or the LCD display on the keyboard) unfortunately including the WINDOWS key. :(

However, the mouse port transmits all the buttons of my MX1000 just fine... Weird.

Other Thoughts: I would've knocked an egg off for the lackluster USB port as mentioned above, but it's not supposed to be that good. FOR WHAT IT IS, IT'S A FIVE-EGGER FOR SURE.

Pros: cable length is adequete, audio support and switching capability is great....

Cons: Using 3 Dell Latitude D830's... I'm unable to switch between the three at the moment. The scroll lock and caps lock lights just keep blinking. I've tried a few different keyboards with no luck. It's only switched successfully once between the two systems, but would not switch back after that.

Other Thoughts: Haven't found much support online for the symptoms I'm recieving with the blinking keyboard lights upon switching between systems. At first I thought I would need some sort of drivers to remedy the switching issues, but still there ar eno driver issues to note in xp or the vista boxes I'm using.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for choosing IOGEAR and we apologize for your experience. The problem you have is pretty rare and you might have received a defective unit. But first try these instructions from the manual.

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [Enter] – This will switch everything (KVM and sound) to the next port with a computer that is powered on. If only one computer is on, this will have no effect.

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] (number) [Enter] – This will switch everything (KVM and sound) to the exact port number typed.

If you are still experiencing issues, this KVM is backed by IOGEAR's 3 year warranty, please feel free to contact our 24/7 tech support at 1(866) 946-4327, they they would be glad to assist you and prcess an RMA for you. Once again, thank you for choosing IOGEAR.