StarTech takes the KVM switch to the next
level
The SV231UAF is a new
KVM product by StarTech aiming to address a number of snags that typical KVM
(Keyboard Video Mouse) switches normally throw up, such as the fact they
usually only accept peripherals of the PS/2 variety, rather than now-ubiquitous
USB ones. This box offers two such ports specifically for mouse and keyboard,
while also channeling both VGA and audio sources. While this is comprehensive,
we have seen such products before, so where does this one diverge from the
norm?
StarTech SV231UAF 2 Port USB VGA KVM
Switch
Look deeper and
StarTech has put a number of very interesting features in. the first was hinted
at by the lack of any accompanying software disc, because the
Windows-compatible tools are located on a flash drive that is accessed by
connecting the device
Once you’ve installed
it on both systems you can use some of the clever features that most KVM
devices don’t support. These include a PIP (Picture in Picture) mode, where you
can see the other PC in a panel on your PC desktop, and even copy files to that
PC.
This box offers two such ports
specifically for mouse and keyboard, while also channeling both VGA and audio
sources
That sounds like a
great feature, and it does work, but for whatever reason StarTech decided to
implement it without any hardware acceleration. Making it painfully slow- and
rendered in a 256 color mode, irrespective of the systems you are using. The
reality is that, in its present form, it’s actually worse to use than
RemoteDesktop- a solution that’s inherently in most versions of Window sin
around today.
What I did like was
the hot-key ability to switch to the other system from the keyboard, and the
variation on that which didn’t switch the audio. That last bit is critical,
because you can set a system doing something and then be alerted by a “beep’ to
know that it needs your attention.
The box comes with its own special
cables that are 4ft and 6ft long, respectively, allowing a maximum theoretical
separation of 10ft
The box comes with its
own special cables that are 4ft and 6ft long, respectively, allowing a maximum
theoretical separation of 10ft. that said, you’ll probably want the box more
conveniently placed near one of the computers, so 5-6ft is a more practical
range. The choice of VGA also isn’t very helpful, as I needed to find three
DVI-to-VGA converters to test the system.
There is however
another elephant in this particular room: for this sort of money you could
actually buy an extra monitor. I accept that this is slicker, as you can stay
at keyboard and screen and control two computers, but it isn’t the cheapest way
to run two machines simultaneously.
A USB KVM system with interesting extras
System administrators
that have a couple of servers they’d like to work on in a cramped systems room
might find this item useful, but there are more elegant solutions available
that use networking to achieve much the same results.
I like StarTech’s
thinking in many aspects of the SV231UAF, thought its execution needs some
polishing in places.
A USB KVM system with interesting extras
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Details
·
Price: $119.58
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Manufacturer: StarTech
·
Website: uk.startech.com
·
Required Spec: Windows 8/7/Vista/XP (32 or
64-bit), USB Mouse and Keyboard, VGA monitor (or DVI if using a converter)
Ratings
·
Quality: 6/10
·
Value: 6/20
·
Overall: 6/10
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