Count me in for a TB5 KVM, Daisy chaining ability would make this absolutely rock any setup.
Count me in for a TB5 KVM, Daisy chaining ability would make this absolutely rock any setup.
It'd be an insta-buy for me. I have a PC + Mac with two 4k screen setup I want to upgrade to 2x 5k screens in the future, and the Thunderbolt 5 KVM would be the first piece I'd get, in a heartbeat.
I currently have a Thunderbolt 4 dock from another well known brand and it's not even able to support a 1080p screen + a smaller 2k one + 3 bluetooth dongles (keyboard, mouse and headset).
With this setup my mouse is often unusable (extremely laggy), so now besides plugging and unplugging my dock from my different computers I also have to do it with my mouse's bluetooth dongle on a separate USB port...
Even when the dock is plugged to a laptop with a Thunderbolt 4 port (not a Display Port) with a powerful CPU, it's just too many devices for this dock.
I can't wait for a more powerful Thunderbolt 5 KVM Switch so it could handle all my devices on one single port and also be able to switch between two PCs with a simple click on a button without having to crawl under my desk to plug/unplug a damn cable...
I have a couple of minor bits of criticism regarding the Thunderbolt 4 KVM, hoping that these design features might get reconsidered with the next version.
First, I really hate the button-on-a-cord that's used to flip between computers. The whole reason that I bought this thing was to reduce the number of cords around my desk.
The KVM should have a button on the box itself, and the tethered button should be an optional thing that users who need it could plug in.
The second thing is, the blue LED is just blinding. Blue and white LEDs have no place on consumer electronics, they overpower everything else the user is trying to look at. That's why Audis and military jets exclusively use red and amber LEDs for their interfaces! NO BLUE
Finally, I have an issue where, when I plug my Macbook into the KVM, I have to toggle the button a few times before the connection is recognized. Maybe I have a mildly defective unit? It doesn't bother me enough to bother trying to get it fixed, but if it's a known issue, I hope that gets addressed.
Otherwise very happy with the product. Good luck with your future designs.
@eric:
First, I really hate the button-on-a-cord that's used to flip between computers. The whole reason that I bought this thing was to reduce the number of cords around my desk.
The KVM should have a button on the box itself, and the tethered button should be an optional thing that users who need it could plug in.
HID emulation should obviate both of these requirements, although I agree that some hardware button should exist on the unit.
@eric Thank you for your feedback. Our Thunderbolt 4 KVM is a popular product and we did spend time on nailing the design, but there is definitely room for improvement. We take all feedback into consideration.
I don't own the SB-TB4K but I do agree with Eric's feedback.
On top of that, I'd like to add one thing about this button: PC1 & PC2 seem inverted compared to the dock's PC1 & PC2 ports. Let me explain:
I think we all agree that we use docks to reduce the amount of cables. When looking at the SB-TB4K dock, it seems obvious that the power cable should come from the back, hence the PC1 & PC2 ports would be facing front. PC2 on the left, PC1 on the right.
Now let's talk about the switch button. Obviously we don't want its cable laying on our desk so the best solution is to make it come from the back which at the same time would make the writings "PC1" and "PC2" facing us (not upside down).
BUT here is the problem, when doing so the "PC1" would be on the left and "PC2" on the right, which is the opposite of the dock !
To fix this issue, one would have to cross the two thunderbolts cables which feels like a messy workaround IMHO.
I don't know if my explanation is clear enough, I personally have my desktop computer on the right side and my laptop on the left side and this whole thing about PC1 & PC2 sides on the SB-TB4K was one more detail in the "cons" list of this specific product.
At the end of the day, a simple button integrated directly on the dock without any cable, like Eric suggested would have avoided this issue.
Just my 2 cents, I really hope an upcoming SB-TB5K won't have the same button design.
Or if I could suggest even better: I personally would much prefer the two thunderbolts PC1 and PC2 ports to be at the back along with the power cable and other USB ports on the front side !
I don't know if this last suggestion makes sense for everybody but that would be my personal preference.
Hi,
Do you have any updates on the TB5 KVM? If it is still planned, when can we realistically expect its release?
Count me in too. I'll buy two of these when they come out.
@Ed We're reading this and still on top of things. We tend to announce when we are actually able to have the product in stock as we want to avoid "paper" launches.
Adding to the sb-tb4k feedback in case it can factor into the TB5 update:
Overall still happy with my sb-tb4k, but I would definitely purchase the TB5 model when its released.
@kvch25 I am guessing they will now scrap all current launching plans in order to accommodate your feedback, so the launch will be postponed for Q2 2027. 😬
Actually I think the button is one of the best features of the current product because it reduces clutter on the desk: the switch itself occupies a much larger area. The best setup is to have the switch below the desk and the button on the edge ot the desk, the cable hanging behind the desk. The cable connecting a laptop to the kvm can be held in place with a cheap cable management system or with an expansive ascrono station. But the idea of having the button on the switch itself would force to keep the kvm on the desk, and I prefer to keep this worthy estate for my work. Of course, the best idea would be to have a wireless button.
