Question Is an HDMI switcher the right way to go for me?

Dec 21, 2022
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Hello all,

I have a Windows 11 PC that has two monitors and very little desk space. Some changes are being made at my employer and those of us who work from home are changing how we do so; instead of logging into a service to remote access our office computer (LogMeIn) we will be given the office PC to log into more directly. I prefer working with just one monitor while the other monitor is for background noise kinds of things (podcasts, YouTube) and this has been simple to do the old way because LogMeIn functions much like a separate window that I could move around, resize, etc. Now that I will have two PC's, I'm trying to think of what to do in order to keep a relatively similar layout while also trying to avoid constantly plugging and unplugging the cables from the monitor.

So that leads me to what my plan was: I was going to purchase and HDMI switcher, plug the work PC into it as well as the cable from my personal PC for the 2nd monitor, and then plug the switcher into the 2nd monitor. Then, when working I would switch windows on my personal PC to go single monitor and use my primary for that, and then I could hit the switcher to turn the 2nd monitor to the work PC. I've never used a peripheral like that for anything before and wasn't sure it that would work as intended and was hoping someone could confirm.

I know it's not the most elegant solution, and I have learned about KVM devices which also sound interesting, however I'm not sure how quickly and easy it would be to just switch back and forth to one of those on the fly to make it worth it (for example, can I work for a few hours, then hit the button to switch for my lunch and read the news, play some Snap, etc., then immediately switch back when lunch time is over?). Thankyou in advance for the advise.
 
Dec 21, 2022
2
0
10
What model monitor are you using?
Does it have multiple inputs?
If it has, then you can switch between different inputs with buttons on monitor.
Connect one pc to input #1, other pc to input #2.
I feel silly for not thinking of that. I would just have to swap which monitor I work on because they aren't the same. The main monitor is a MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD which does have multiple inputs (the other one is just an HP M22F FHD. So I'll just work off the main one that way and then put the non-work stuff on the secondary. Thank you for your help!