KVM switch issues

[HenriK]

1) Having three different XP-Pro based PCs serving different functions
taking up a lot of space in my home office, does anyone have any
recommendations on KVM boxes that will simultaneously switch between
multiple PCs to a single DVI monitor, PS/2-type keyboard, and PS/2-type
track ball yet not draw any power from any of the PCs?

2) As one of the three PCs only has a VGA output graphics card, is it
possible to convert this VGA output to work with a DVI switcher? I am
aware that one can buy adapters to convert the output of a DVI graphics
card to interface with a VGA monitor but am unclear if VGA to DVI
adapters exist.

Thanks for any and all advice and recommendations.

 

[VanguardLH]

1) Having three different XP-Pro based PCs serving different functions
taking up a lot of space in my home office, does anyone have any
recommendations on KVM boxes that will simultaneously switch between
multiple PCs to a single DVI monitor, PS/2-type keyboard, and PS/2-type
track ball yet not draw any power from any of the PCs?

2) As one of the three PCs only has a VGA output graphics card, is it
possible to convert this VGA output to work with a DVI switcher? I am
aware that one can buy adapters to convert the output of a DVI graphics
card to interface with a VGA monitor but am unclear if VGA to DVI
adapters exist.

Thanks for any and all advice and recommendations.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817801058
(never used it, just did a search at newegg)

You can probably also use a KVM with DVI connectors and use your
VGA-to-DVI adapter but this unit eliminates the need for the adapter.
Alas, this one doesn't meet your first requirement that it be
self-powered. Its specs says that it draws power from a USB connect to
one of the computers. I didn't see a guided search selection for
picking self-powered versus host-powered but you can do your own guided
or advanced search to see what they have. Being self-powered means more
cost so you might want to sort the search results by highest-to-lowest
price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707032 has a 9V
adapter to plug-in but I'm not sure it has the connections that you need
(since it just has the D-Sub VGA connectors), or you'll end up stuck
with using the DVI-to-VGA adapter at the video connector on the hosts.

Note that if *no* power were drawn by the KVM over the keyboard and
mouse ports that your hosts would probably drop into a low-power mode,
like Standby or Hibernate, so you might want to disable their power
saving options. Coming out of low-power mode means you'd switch to that
host but be sitting there looking at a blank screen for a short time.