eBay

Offered at a buy it now price is this nice quality USB 3 HDMI KVM switch by ALSUM. This was received new as a review item, and has only been opened and used to test for the article. This is in mint as new working condition with all accessories and original box included.

My original review is as follows:

This USB HDMI KVM Switch by ALXUM is presented in a card box, with separate compartment to hold four leads (2 USB cables, UK Plug 5V Power Supply cable, and Desktop Controller lead), a short instruction book, and the KVM switch itself. KVM incidentally is an acronym for ‘Keyboard, Video, & Mouse.

No remote control is included, which is a little disappointing for the price. However its prime use is to connect two computers and two monitors, which in most instances will be located nearby, and there is a supplied Desktop Controller cable to switch computer configurations from a moderate distance (1.5 M).

The build quality of the main KVM unit is excellent, feels metallic throughout – including the case. The sockets are clearly labelled. At the front are a toggle on/off power switch, a push button to switch between 1 and 2 (i.e. computers), headphone audio output, microphone input, and two USB 3 outputs (for peripherals). The neatly arrayed rear has the 5V DC input port, another overall USB3 Output (for peripheral input), set 2 of USB input (via supplied cable) with two HDMI inputs, and similarly for set 1 USB input and two HDMI inputs.

Instructions are brief, too much so in my view. No real guidance is provided for a computer novice, the font is small, along with the illustrations. Though microphone and headphone 3.5mm sockets are provided, these do not connect directly to the computer equivalents, signals can be provided by HDMI if graphics card facilitates this.

Connection is relatively straight forward, and to assist users a little puzzled by the instruction book guidance setting up summarised as follows: -

a. Connect your monitors to the HDMI OUT ports on the rear of the unit.
b. Connect your Input peripherals (keyboard, mouse, plus one spare port for one more) to the USB OUT ports (Sounds confusing, but this is how this unit works).
c. Connect USB IN (via supplied cables) to a USB socket for each computer (1 & 2).
d. Connect each computer’s HDMI output(s) to HDMI IN (1 & 2).
e. Connect the desk controller switch, if required – allowing a switch to be located around 1.5 metres away.
f. Finally connect the power supply charger lead.
Note: Use computer’s USB 3.0 or greater (Blue or Green).
In practice unit works well, enabling two separate computers to be switched to two dedicated monitors. Input peripheral such as mouse and keyboard are switched at the same time – all with a single press of a button.

With WFH (Working from Home) being vogue, can see practical use in sharing home computer’s monitor and USB peripherals succinctly in conjunction with this KVM switch. If the WFH PC is a notebook (they usually are), one tip is to extend monitors so both notebook and main monitor can be used. Other uses include linking two separate computer systems to use the same monitor and peripherals, albeit not at the same time.

Overall, a well built and designed ALXUM branded KVM switch, with the additional cables included to enable joining two PCs to use the same peripherals. Instructions would benefit for providing more guidance to novice users.