TL;DR: things keep randomly failing. Is this caused by overheating, low power, poor build quality, a specific app, or something else?
I have two monitors hooked up to one work laptop and one gaming PC via a KVM switch. Getting everything to play nice together was definitely a headache but I eventually got it working...for a couple months. Now parts of it are randomly failing, and when I restart the switch it'll fix everything and then randomly re-roll which item breaks again. From searching around this and other communities, it sounds like a lot of people have questions about dual-monitor KVM setups but they're mostly asking what to get, not how to keep it working. I'm wondering whether I bought the right type of item but from a crappy manufacturer, or maybe the way I've put it together is making something overheat. I've gone through two KVM switches at this point, with different models/manufacturers but similar issues.
Here's my full setup:
Computer 1 (win10) GPU: 4070 TI super, 3x displayport + 1x HDMI output
Computer 2 (win11) GPU: laptop w/ integrated graphics, 1x USB-C thunderbolt + 1x HDMI 2.1 output
Primary monitor: 4k@60Hz, HDMI or DP input
Secondary monitor: 1080p@60Hz mini-HDMI or USB-C input
KVM switch: 2x HDMI input and output with EDID
-Current model: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHVM61SF
-Kept inside a decently ventilated box, but still a box
Relevant accessories:
-CableMatters 8k DisplayPort-to-HDMI converter cable (the PC has only 1 HDMI port, so the secondary monitor gets that and the primary monitor uses a DP port and this converter cable)
Troubleshooting:
- As mentioned above, I swapped out my old switch when it started misbehaving. New one has a similar-but-not-identical set of problems.
- When I skip the switch and connect the desktop PC directly to the primary monitor with a displayport cable, it works very reliably.
- When I take the KVM switch out of the box and leave it somewhere with plenty of airflow for a day, there are still occasional issues.
- I actually changed graphics cards during this process (for unrelated reasons) which didn't change anything.
- While other problems are fairly random, the laptop never works with the secondary monitor anymore when routed through the switch.
- For some reason, monitors randomly turn off a lot more frequently when I have the Viber desktop app open and focused. This is NOT theonly time it happens, it's just noticeably more common.
- There are also various USB peripherals plugged into the switch. These break less often than the monitors, but they do break.
- I used to use a 4k converter cable which died on me, and I switched to the 8k overkill one.
- At one point the KVM switch's power adapter died. I replaced it with a new one of the same specs and there was no change in behavior for better or worse.