If you have 2 computers and 2 monitors at your desk, and both of them are turned on at the same time, then these cheap little gems will help you instantly control which computer is seen on which screen.

You need 2 of these 'manual' switches (avoid automatic switches like the plague).

One switch controls which computer is on screen 1

The other switch controls which computer is on screen 2.

Therefore in 2 seconds you can have either:

*Computer A on the larger screen 1 and computer B on the smaller screen 2.

*Or vice versa.

*Or computer A on both screens.

*Or computer B on both screens.

You never have to turn either computer off, you can leave them running all day, even if you mainly are using just one of the two.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079JQ9XXV/

Just as a bit of an additional warning concerning doing this, or something like it, make sure you sit properly at the computers if you switch from one to the other frequently.

There are a couple of reasons for this, the main one is the possibility of causing physical muscle injuries to yourself from not being positioned properly. I know this to my cost from years ago when I was a writer/sub editor at the Guardian Group. I used two different systems to write the articles, sub them, then create the finished pages for transmission because I had to import the ad stacks which the news content is fitted around, from one computer to another (one was a Mac, the other a PC). I had these two computers placed at right angles to one another on a corner-shaped desk.

I would frequently sit at one computer, then reach over to the other computer's mouse, do what I needed to do and then switch back to the other computer, and I would invariably just swivel my chair a bit and stretch over, rather than moving into a good work position, since this was faster to do. After a few years of doing this, I ended up with pretty bad RSI in my right wrist and a badly damaged elbow too, it was very horrible, and it took a long time for me to get these right again including seeing a few specialists; it was as a direct result of doing that lazy switching between computers.

In addition to this, be very careful about having your twin monitors at different distances from your eye position. It's much better to have them placed in a position where they form an arc so that when you glance from one screen to the other, your eyes do not have to switch to a different focal distance between the two different screens (this goes for copy holders too if you use one of these as well.

If you don't do this, the constant switching of your eye muscles as they jump between two slightly different focal distances will not only strain your eyes and eventually damage them if you keep that up, but that strain also manifests itself in making you more tired after a prolonged period of doing that as well, which is why if you have a poorly laid out work set up, you'll be absolutely worn out by the end of a working day.

Trust me, it's worth the effort of setting it up right and taking all the above into consideration, even if it means spending money on a new desk or a better computer chair, or perhaps relocating your stuff to enable a good set up with no compromises in this regard.

23 minutes ago, Chock said:

Just as a bit of an additional warning concerning doing this, or something like it, make sure you sit properly at the computers if you switch from one to the other frequently.

Something like this might allow you to use the one KB/mouse -  a bit like a cheap KVM

 

https://www.catch.com.au/product/ugreen-usb-2-0-sharing-switch-2-computers-4-port-usb-peripheral-switcher-adapter-for-pc-printer-scanner-mouse-keyboard-with-one-button-swapping-6938263/?offer_id=34856422&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5vb-BRCRARIsAJBKc6LG31XzetFeTWhcvNgOoccQF5QXNMsHFGjvKIjhlBmOuxcwVbgK8JQaAhUyEALw_wcB

31 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

Something like this might allow you to use the one KB/mouse -  a bit like a cheap KVM

 

https://www.catch.com.au/product/ugreen-usb-2-0-sharing-switch-2-computers-4-port-usb-peripheral-switcher-adapter-for-pc-printer-scanner-mouse-keyboard-with-one-button-swapping-6938263/?offer_id=34856422&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5vb-BRCRARIsAJBKc6LG31XzetFeTWhcvNgOoccQF5QXNMsHFGjvKIjhlBmOuxcwVbgK8JQaAhUyEALw_wcB

I have 2 computers, a sim computer and a dev computer, hooked to the same monitor on my desk. I use a USB switch almost identical to the link to switch mouse and keyboard between the computers.

My dev computer is connected to HDMI 1 on the monitor. My sim computer is connected to an HDMI splitter/repeater. One side connects to HDMI 2 on my desk monitor and the other side goes to the monitor in my cockpit.

I just now switched over to my sim computer after working on repaints on my dev computer. Push the button on the USB switch and select HDMI 2 on the monitor remote. Simple as that.

 

 

Edited December 20, 20205 yr by yurei

One of the reasons I went with my Dell U3417W is that it has built in HDMI/DP switching, both comps use the same rez

 

I have 3 monitors CompA uses monitor 1-2 and CompB uses 2-3, monitor 2 being the U3417W in the middle.

Monitor 1 is perm on CompA and Monitor 3 is perm on CompB - add display fusion and you have the best of two computers.