> If you use a laptop with an external monitor, a better idea is to get a premium monitor which handles charging, video, and data transfer of USB devices connected to the monitor for you.

I made this mistake, and I ended up with a grossly overpriced monitor which fails to charge a MacBook Pro and whose video through USBC support is hit-and-miss, in the sense that it doesn't always work.

Look for monitors which advertise thunderbolt and a charging wattage. If it still doesn't work then just return it since it's defective.

I've been using a Dell U38118DW monitor for maybe 8 months[ed: purchased it in July 2020 so closer to 20 months!] now and quite content with it. It has an internal USB hub that can be switched between two USB-3a and USB-C depending on which display input is active. I have my desktop attached to one of the 3a and HDMI, and can plug my frame.work laptop in to the USB-C to get 60hz Display Port alt-mode, charging, and all the usb peripherals swapping over.

though of course my laptop's intel GPU + mesa drivers tears drawing to the screen, but i generally don't care and don't watch video or play games on the laptop

So both computers and all your peripherals are connected to the monitor, correct?

And you can just swap between them by switching the active input source?

Yup, and I can swap between them by plugging my laptop in to the USB-C while it's turned in, input autodetection handles the rest.

That's awesome! That monitor is a 38" 3840 X 1600 display, right? What do you think of it overall?

(I am not the poster you were replying to) - I wanted to add that I have the 40" 5K2K version (U4021QW) and I'd recommend it very highly.

I do the same input switching he mentioned, and it works very reliably.

It also has support for pbp mode, where it can display each computer on a portion of the screen.

That is also a model I've looked at very closely. Good to know that it can do that!

Currently I have a 34" 3440 x 1440, and with two separate docking stations (one for each laptop) and a USB hub for my peripherals that is connected to both docking stations. It's a lot of extra mess on my desk that ideally I would like to cleanup with having everything connect directly to the monitor.

BTW, how is the resolution on the 40"? Can you use it with native resolution, or do you have to do any scaling? Having all of that extra screen real estate would be awesome

I use a different monitor but can confirm PBP is great for using multiple computers.

For most peripherals, there are software solutions. I ditched any kind of KVM, and my monitor does not have USB ports. However, I use my monitor to switch inputs and use barrier to use the same keyboard and mouse on multiple systems (up to four). It works well and when traveling I also use it to work on my work laptop, with my personal laptop off to the side for reference materials, calendar etc.

I went this route. I have a supposedly good Dell monitor where one of my devices will connect via video but not recognize attached USB devices 4 out of 5 times so I need to plug and unplug a bunch of times every day. It can take over 15 attempts on a bad day. Never again.

These are great if you just have a laptop. I use the Dell S2719DC and I love being able to just get everything by plugging in one cable. However, I switch between a laptop and desktop, so I wound up buying a separate USB switch for peripherals, and it gets kinda confusing:

KB/mouse -> switch -> desktop/monitor

Monitor <-> laptop (usb-c)

Desktop -> monitor (HDMI)

The downsides are that it only supports 45W charging, and you can't really use dual monitors.

Ideally I could use a KVM so everything is switched in one device. But USB switching is cheap and reliable (my switch cost $25 and has been rock solid), whereas the cheapest KVM I could find to do this cost $150, doesn't support 144hz, is stuck on hdmi 2.0, etc.

I switched to a 32:9 ultra wide instead of 2 monitors and it really works nicely for having multiple computers. Like you, I also use the monitor itself to switch inputs. I use software (barrier) instead of a KVM though.

Depending on my needs I can run one of my computers using the full width, or run 2 at half width each.

My experience is similar. I also "burned out" a couple of USB-C hubs (including a very similar Anker branded unit) so eventually upgraded to a decent monitor with integrated USB-C hub. Being able to switch between all the laptops in our household and my PC with only one cable has been really great. Although, we often find our Apple laptops have problems recognising the connected devices so we have to connect and re-connect a few times to ensure everything is working as it should. No such problems with the PC!

This is the real life hack, no more dongles nor docking stations, but all of the benefits of just having to plug in 1 cable.

This route doesn't have to be expensive either, my 1440p, 27 inch Philips docking monitor cost $270, basically the price of mediocre level docking station.

Elgato Thunderbolt Dock does it perfectly and doesn’t limit your display options to just a handful of very expensive thunderbolt displays

I had several dongles and wires handing from my laptop until I read your comment just now. thanks!

This doesn't help for travel.