Need help with a home computer setup

[aishel]

I have a PC at home with two monitors attached which has been working great for several years. My wife has a work laptop that she wants to be able to bring home and connect to the two monitors that are already there, and also use the mouse and keyboard of the PC. I'm trying to figure out what I need to make this happen. Do I need a KVM switch? Docking station? HDMI splitter? Her laptop has a few USB C ports, but no HDMI ports.

[amaaretz]

All you need is an expensive dock or a cheap dongle, both of which you can find on Amazon. Make sure it has the correct plug to plug into your PC, and make sure it has the correct ports for your monitors (so you can always use adapters).

[aishel]

Can the dock recognize two computers and can I switch between them? Or do I need a separate KVM switch in addition to the dock?

[Yehudaa]

Can the dock recognize two computers and can I switch between them? Or do I need a separate KVM switch in addition to the dock?

You want the dock to be plugged into both computers simultaneously? Not sure if that’s possible with any dock alone, but if you’re willing to unplug it from your PC to connect to her laptop then yes, any dock should work.

I would add that a lot of the cheaper docks may give you problems with one thing or another- one of your monitors might not work (even if the dock has two ports), the power may not pass through at the right rate for the laptop, etc. It may be worth spending money on a good one.

Fwiw, I have this one at work and it’s excellent. That specific model might not work for your desktop as it’s only USB-C, but Dell may have others that could work for you. Note that they have different options that look the same but lack one or two ports. For example, the one above doesn’t have an audio port- they charge extra for that.

[aishel]

I don't have to use them simultaneously, but it would be nice to be able to just switch between them with a button.

So if my wife was working from home, she can plug it into the potential dock (or KVM? Both?), flip a switch, and then the two monitors that are currently attached to my PC would then be attached to her laptop and she would be able to use both monitors as well as the keyboard and mouse of the PC.

[Yehudaa]

I don't have to use them simultaneously, but it would be nice to be able to just switch between them with a button.

So if my wife was working from home, she can plug it into the potential dock (or KVM? Both?), flip a switch, and then the two monitors that are currently attached to my PC would then be attached to her laptop and she would be able to use both monitors as well as the keyboard and mouse of the PC.

Might be cheaper and simpler if you’re willing to have her remove one cable (the dock) from your computer and plug it into her laptop. That’s what I was suggesting. Is that not an option?

[aishel]

Right now, all I have is one PC that's connected to two monitors, and separately just a laptop that's not connected to anything else. So I don't currently have a dock, and I wasn't sure if that was the right solution or not.

[lcm]

The most straightforward solution would be to have a kvm switch, then the wires from the kvm switch that need to be plugged into the second computer be plugged into the hub/dongle, so you only have to plug in one thing into the laptop.
The other option is to have the screens, keyboard etc plugged into the hub, and then you pull it out of the computer and plug it into the laptop. You would need to make sure your computer has a port that can handle the dongle with all those things

[amaaretz]

Can the dock recognize two computers and can I switch between them? Or do I need a separate KVM switch in addition to the dock?

I'm not aware of one that would recognize two computers, but it may exist. It's really not that difficult to unplug the dock from one computer and plug it into the next one. All of the peripherals are plugged into the dock anyway.

[aishel]

The most straightforward solution would be to have a kvm switch, then the wires from the kvm switch that need to be plugged into the second computer be plugged into the hub/dongle, so you only have to plug in one thing into the laptop.
The other option is to have the screens, keyboard etc plugged into the hub, and then you pull it out of the computer and plug it into the laptop. You would need to make sure your computer has a port that can handle the dongle with all those things

This does seem to be the best solution.

I'm not aware of one that would recognize two computers, but it may exist. It's really not that difficult to unplug the dock from one computer and plug it into the next one. All of the peripherals are plugged into the dock anyway.

I guess this is why I was asking if a KVM switch would be more appropriate. The reason I was thinking that your solution might not work is because my PC uses VGA and HDMI cables to connect to the two monitors, whereas the laptop only has USB-C ports.

I appreciate everyone's responses!

[amaaretz]

This does seem to be the best solution.I guess this is why I was asking if a KVM switch would be more appropriate. The reason I was thinking that your solution might not work is because my PC uses VGA and HDMI cables to connect to the two monitors, whereas the laptop only has USB-C ports.

I appreciate everyone's responses!

They have docks and dongles with all assortments of display ports that'll connect to your laptop. I have a USB C dongle that plugs into my laptop, and I run an HDMI display and a VGA display to the dongle.

One of the limitations typically found in dongles, and not docks, is that you usually can't connect 2 displays of the same type to the dongle. They'll mirror each other instead of functioning as separate displays. Docks are better with this.