Posted 23 October 2023

Recommendation for device to switch between computers

I have a PC with two monitors connected. I can use this as normal.

I now have another laptop, what I would like to do is switch between the PC and laptop as and when, so I can view the PC or laptop screen on the two monitors, depending on which one I have plugged in.

I know I can swap the HDMI wires from the PC to the laptop but is there since device which would allow me to swap between the PC and laptop without the hassle of swapping wires all the time?

I may as well add that if possible I also have a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse. If a device could also swap these to the appropriate PC/laptop that would be an added bonus.
Community Updates
New Comment

11 Comments

sorted by
's avatar
  1. chrishamblin's avatar
    amazon.co.uk/Mon…h=1

    That one's around £70 and looks like it will the 2 computer + 2 screens you're after.
    There are quite a few on Amazon for around this price(70 - 110 ish).

    If your keyboard and mouse are just wireless with a dongle somewhere, then this will work with that too, but if it's real Bluetooth, then it'll be much trickier. As in, almost impossible.

    KVMs are great, but it may be that you can just get away with running a remote desktop app on one of your devices (Anydesk / TeamViewer / Rust Desktop etc.) and then just view it from the other. Most of these also let you have 2 screens broadcast. It'll be crap for gaming, but if it's office stuff it'll be fine.
  2. aLV426's avatar
    Here's a link to multiscreen support KVMs:
    tesmart.com/col…tor
    If you are connecting to your host device directly with blutooth then you won't be able to switch them between devices via a KVM. If you use a dongle then you might have some success. How do you swap the keyboard/mouse between the devices at present?
  3. PS5's avatar
    All those words yet no courtesy..
    I have a set up that does this flawlessly so I can flick between devices
  4. a666andy's avatar
    You need a kvm = keyboard video mouse switch
    deleted2686495's avatar
    Yup - only problem here is that you're talking a double monitor setup which tends to be a more complex beasty than most people have.

    The standard ones will allow a single screen and multiple devices like mouse and keyboard connections.
  5. tardytortoise's avatar
    Something like this might do
    amazon.co.uk/ABL…c=1

    Needs checking fully and also price comparing plus comparing with other products.

    In principal you have 2 input devices (PC and Laptop) and then a"switch/box" between two monitors. You then need a means to switch one input device on while the other device is switched off. A simple mechanical switch would suffice. When it comes to keyboards, again it would be best if both keyboards were switched at the same time as the pc/laptop were switched.

    Good Luck
    deleted2686495's avatar
    As was mentioned earlier, OP wants 2 monitors - this device will only drive one monitor against 2 machines.
  6. Mendoza's avatar
    I bought a cheap Chinese tat, many years ago, but it worked very well, for switching
  7. C0mm0d0re_K1d's avatar
    This could be tricky and possibly very expensive to do, depending on...

    What make and model laptop do you have?

    Do you have a laptop dock?

    What type of kB and mouse are you using?

    What video connections do you have available on both machines?
's avatar