[SOLVED] Remote monitor, keyboard and USB port

[Michelvw]

Hello all,

I have a main PC in the living room (5800x,32gb ram, 1080ti), but in my attic I have a workspace for my 3D printers and such.
Does anybody know if there is a way to work on this pc, but from the attic?
I'm hoping there is a system where I can buy optical fiberglass cable and can connect my pc downstars to a monitor, keyboard mouse and a USB port upstairs.
Is this at all possible?

I've tried remote desktop and while that does work, I can't load files onto an "attic" Usb drive this way.
I do have a PC upstairs, but transferring files and programs and settings is a pain.
I have a max budget of 1,5k to blow on this, if this would work.

Any ideas?
Thank you!

 

[Lutfij]

How far is the attic where your workspace is to the system in your living room? You could look into a KVM but then again that's for multiple system's and the wire length is short. Mind you wire length comes into play since the longer you run a cable the more is the latency experienced. I don't think you're idea is viable, since you could very well build a small form factor system for that 1,500USD(?), I'm assuming USD since you didn't mention the currency.

 

[Michelvw]

Hey Lutfij, thank you for your feedback!
Currency is Euro actually, but you can understand the ballpark of it
Distance living room to attic is about 30 meters max, so I hope this could be feasible?

I see some KVM switches but or they are extremely cheap or very expensive, and all work via CAT5-6 wire.
So it's difficult for me to gauge which brand makes this as low latency as possible...

I do have an extra PC on the attic at the moment, but I'd like not to bother with transferring 3D files or program settings from one PC to the other.
Being able to streamline that would save me a lot of money, that is why there is a 1500euro budget.

Preferably, I don't know if this exists and if it is necessary, a KVM with fiber optics if that would enable low latency & full transfer of USB/HDMI/... would be ideal.

 

[InvalidError]

Preferably, I don't know if this exists and if it is necessary, a KVM with fiber optics if that would enable low latency & full transfer of USB/HDMI/... would be ideal.

Low latency over long-ish distances is a niche market, so you end up paying for the privilege of being one of the few manufacturers can recover the costs of designing and manufacturing semi-custom hardware to cram all of those bits into a long cable from. There are fiber-based KVM range extenders but those cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $2000, not really something you want to use unless you need the 200-2000m range.

 

[Paperdoc]

I'm afraid the complete details of what I suggest are beyond my knowledge, but I can point you in a good direction. You have a network connection between the attic and your main computer, and you have a second computer in the attic. What you really could do is configure both computers so that the attic system can access everything on the main computer. Then you would have two options.

A. Use all of the tools on the attic system to do all your work - that means the attic system would need to have most of your application software already installed there, and they would merely access user files stored on your main system. Relatively simple.

B. Arrange to have the attic system take over control of the main system using Remote Access. Some info on this to start here

How to Connect Remotely in Windows 10 - dummies

The Windows 10 Remote Desktop Connection app allows you to connect to other computers or devices that are connected to your local network or that are on the Int

www.dummies.com

In this Remote Access system, the attic system becomes the keyboard, mouse and monitor that is controlling the main computer, and all the actual processing using app software is done on the main computer using its resources. There are third-party utilities for such operations, but as I understand it, Windows 10 already includes the tools you need, so it costs you nothing. And it operates over an ethernet connection, so you won't worry about cable length. HOWEVER, there MAY be security things to consider since you are creating a limited opening into each computer on your internal network, and that MAY create possibilites of access from outside.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Possible, yes. Advisable? No. I assume the reason you are concerned with latency is that you want to use it for gaming?

If it is really “work” that you want to do, then probably the best way is to do Remote Desktop into the PC downstairs from an old laptop or a $50 used Dell Optiplex from eBay or something that you have upstairs.

That way you only need to run Ethernet to your attic, which is rated to 100M before you need a repeater.

If this is not possible, because you want to pwn noobs on call of duty, and you need low latency for that, then you will spend quite a lot of money doing this.

The simplest, jankiest way is to get like 100 USB extender cables and like 20 USB repeaters, and strategically thread those through your floorboards. Video is less of a problem, since you can just run a really long HDMI cable without too much of an issue. If you do reach the limits of HDMI, powered repeater boxes are very cheap and don’t add too much latency: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076PB728Z/

Or if stringing 20 USB repeaters and 3 HDMI repeaters seems crazy (it is) there are dedicated low-latency KVM solutions such as this:

Mirabox5631 4K KVM USB HDMI Extender with PoE over Cat5e / Cat6 up to 328ft, Ultra HD 4K @ 30Hz YUV4: 4: 4 lossless utal-low latency for computer, 4 USB 2.0 ports, plug & play : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

Mirabox5631 4K KVM USB HDMI Extender with PoE over Cat5e / Cat6 up to 328ft, Ultra HD 4K @ 30Hz YUV4: 4: 4 lossless utal-low latency for computer, 4 USB 2.0 ports, plug & play : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

www.amazon.co.uk

Which will send the video and usb over ethernet, and only add 20 or 30 ms lag.