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The ProConnect's most striking feature is its unconventional layout. Rather than placing the keyboard, video, and mouse ports on one or two opposing edges of the unit, the console and PC ports are spread around three of the unit's edges. The fourth edge holds the switch button, with status lights coming in on top of the unit.
Ports are spread over several edges
The ProConnect might be Compact, but its cabling isn't
While the unique layout certainly makes the ProConnect Compact easy to differentiate from its competitors, it doesn't actually work any better. There's a reason why the other three switches we're looking at stick to having the ports and buttons on only two opposing edges: it's just better that way.
Standard KVM layouts keep cabling nice and tight
With the ProConnect, you need adequate clearance for cabling for three sides of the unit rather than just two. With five sets of cables running out of 3 edges, things can get crowded, and a little messy. This odd cable arrangement makes putting the model on a desk top much more complicated, and you're going to need extra space for all the cabling.
The button and light placement for the ProConnect are also rather problematic. It's simple enough, with a single button and a solitary indicator light for each PC, but the bizarre layout makes even this setup more difficult to use than it needs to be. Because the switching button is on one edge of the unit and the lights indicating which PC is being controlled are on the top, you need a view of the top of the unit and access to the side with the button. Linksys would have done far better here to have either the button on top or the lights on the edge; separating the two makes operation more cumbersome than it should be.
Lights on top and button on the edge: not a good combo
Construction-wise, despite its light weight and all-plastic outer shell, the ProConnect is solid. While it won't survive a car running over it, it should take the requisite abuse of a server room or home office without a problem. Being the lightest and smallest, it's also the most portable, as its Compact suffix hints. The unit does lack rubber feet on the bottom, but sliding was surprisingly not an issue. Because of the model's odd layout, the opposing sets of cables actually do a fairly good job of anchoring things in place. Fully loaded, slippage isn't a problem.
The ProConnect is the quietest unit of the bunch because it doesn't beep when switching between machines. Honestly, I didn't mind the lack of noise, since there's always a visual confirmation of a switch when the monitor changes over to the next computer.
The ProConnect supports the standard set of hot-key functions (select, last/next, and autoscan). These hot-keys allow you to switch between machines with simple key combinations that alleviate the need to reach for the switch to switch machines. These hot-keys make up somewhat for the ProConnect's troubled button placement, as machines can even be selected individually. A hot-key combination can also be used to invoke the ProConnect's three second autoscan. However, the ProConnect doesn't have an on-screen display.
The ProConnect will take monitor resolutions up to 1920x1440 at 85Hz. There was no noticable loss of visual quality visible using the ProConnect with either of the monitors we tested.
In the end, the ProConnect Compact has good functionality, but an awkward design ultimately holds it back from being more practical.
