Question Way to connect 2 setups to same computer

[DivideByZeroOverflow]

[Moderator Note: Moving post from Computer Peripherals to Networking.]

At present, I am running two older systems. One is in my detached workshop, the other is in main house in my office there. Gaming is a bit of a nuisance. I am limited to the performance of the 13-year-old system and have to mess around with synching the game saves if I want to switch locations mid game. ideally, I want to buy one good system, but have displays, speakers, etc connected to it from both- I do have CAT-6 ethernet cables running between the locations and wireless is also possible as they are only about 30 feet apart. I do also have access to the underground conduit to run a new type of cable between them if needed to make a KVM or whatever work.

The two current systems are largely irrelevant- this is about what to replace them with. Neither can play Cities II or any other game that requires serious power. The older one is an ancient Dell XPS 8100 running windows 10 Pro that has been upgraded repeatedly over the years. The other is a Dell Precision 3630 running Windows 11 Pro. The point here is I will probably retire both of these systems next year and upgrade to something that can play games requiring higher specs- like Cities II. I would prefer to buy just one system if it were possible.
I do often RDP between them now, but not for gaming- that never seems to work well.

Is there any effective solution that would be durable and cost less than buying two mid-range gaming pc's?
Otherwise, I could do a laptop, but dubious about any laptop's ability to be upgraded or be dependable enough to last for more than 3-4 years. I typically keep my systems around 10 years.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information both systems.

Not sure about the current network - more information needed.

= = =

However, I suggest networking both systems via a wired network and then do some experimenting with Remote Desktop Connection.

(You should not need to run any new types of cable: Ethernet, Cat 5e, pure copper, UTP round AWG 22-24 should be just fine. )

Start here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/w...-services/clients/remote-desktop-allow-access

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../uninstall-remote-desktop-connection?tabs=gui

Objective being to simply determine if Remote Desktop Connection can be established and made workable.

Performance may be another issue.

 

[Eximo]

Remote Desktop is only really suitable for turn based or slower gameplay. The video compression and longer response times would be quite impactful.

Dual set of peripherals is possible, you could get some thunderbolt cards and thunderbolt hubs to plug in all your peripherals. To get the run lengths you will need an active optical thunderbolt cable. It will only be slightly annoying to have to constantly switch the primary display around though. Simple solution there would be to unplug one monitor or the other before you switch workstations.

Thunderbolt will require a thunderbolt capable motherboard and these tend to be on the expensive side.

 

[bill001g]

The generic solution is called a KVM. You could then in theory run your machine from far away. Many of these claim to run even over the internet.

Problem is the latency....mostly related to the video. If you look at the bandwidth required on stuff like HDMI cables it makes ethernet cables look tiny.
HDMI 1.0 start out at almost 5gbit and hdmi 2.1 is 48gbit.

This huge bandwidth is also why the cables can only go rather short distances.

The KVM solutions do silly stuff like compress the data so it takes less bandwidth. This of course reduces the quality but also adds lag time because of time ti takes to do the compression and decompression.

I have seen KVM devices that claim to do it without compression over fiber.

I can provide little other guidance than to do some research on KVM devices. The last time I messed with these they barely did the function but technology may have improved.

 

[Eximo]

The generic solution is called a KVM. You could then in theory run your machine from far away. Many of these claim to run even over the internet.

Problem is the latency....mostly related to the video. If you look at the bandwidth required on stuff like HDMI cables it makes ethernet cables look tiny.
HDMI 1.0 start out at almost 5gbit and hdmi 2.1 is 48gbit.

This huge bandwidth is also why the cables can only go rather short distances.

The KVM solutions do silly stuff like compress the data so it takes less bandwidth. This of course reduces the quality but also adds lag time because of time ti takes to do the compression and decompression.

I have seen KVM devices that claim to do it without compression over fiber.

I can provide little other guidance than to do some research on KVM devices. The last time I messed with these they barely did the function but technology may have improved.

Not exactly. A KVM has the opposite function. Allowing you to control multiple computers with a single set of peripherals.

This is controlling one computer with two sets of peripherals.

Another option would be a mobile workstation type laptop with a beefy GPU. Then you could just keep a set of external peripherals in both locations and just take the computer with you each time.

 

[DivideByZeroOverflow]

Remote Desktop is only really suitable for turn based or slower gameplay. The video compression and longer response times would be quite impactful.

Dual set of peripherals is possible, you could get some thunderbolt cards and thunderbolt hubs to plug in all your peripherals. To get the run lengths you will need an active optical thunderbolt cable. It will only be slightly annoying to have to constantly switch the primary display around though. Simple solution there would be to unplug one monitor or the other before you switch workstations.

Thunderbolt will require a thunderbolt capable motherboard and these tend to be on the expensive side.

Based on replies so far, this seems like the only possible option other than just getting a laptop and physically carrying it between the two locations. I will have to check out the prices and see if it is doable. The thunderbolt cable would probably need to be 50'-60' to cover snaking through walls and ceilings plus crossing under the driveway.

 

[bill001g]

So now I remember where I saw these kvm extender things. There is a company called icron that makes them. They have many models and send uncompressed video and usb over fiber or ethernet. I would bet you need need the fiber to do 1080p. I never really bothered to look at them because they seem very expensive. The place I saw them was on idiot linus tech tips youtube running them in his new house.

 

[Ralston18]

Before buying anything give Remote Desktop Connection a try anyway.

Remote Desktop Connection may indeed slow gameplay etc..

However there is no harm in trying and the experience/results may prove helpful towards working out a viable solution.