Ok, I have a laptop computer which, in IBM’s infinite wisdom, is fitted with a single PS/2 port for either a keyboard or a mouse. Since I want to use a real keyboard and mouse at the same time, obviously, I need some sort of splitter cable.
I’ve found an alarmingly wide range of prices for these things, however… Here is candidate #1 at only $7.00 it sure seems to be a bargain. Enter candidate #2 which is a Belkin “Pro” product at $49.99, not exactly the bargain I was looking for.
I guess my question is… could there possibly be enough difference between these products to make one worth $42.99 more than the other? Will the cheap one not work at all with my PC, thus wasting my money? Is Belkin just completely and ridiculously overpriced? Can Belkin managers sleep at night knowing they charge 50 for .50 worth of materials?
Well, IANA computer tech, but what pops out at me is that the one that’s on sale for seven bucks is only 6 inches long and that the other one is 12" long, and that the 6" one says it’s a “mouse and keyboard adaptor”, and the 12" one says it’s a “laptop Y cable” and it looks different. That would account for the difference in price, I suppose.
The genesis of this whole thing was me foolishly walking into a CompUSA to buy the splitter, and seeing that Belkin thing for $49.99, with no lower-cost alternatives in sight. Checking online, I saw some more, at vastly lower prices, and just felt like there had to be some catch to the cheapies.
There are some cables where high quality matters. Video cables for one – a cheap monitor extension will give you ghosting or blurring at high resolution. But a PS/2 splitter is not something that needs quality, especially over the short distances we’re talking about here.
Personally speaking, I’ve used an el cheapo $6 cable with my Thinkpad T23 and it worked fine. Color-coding of the ends is the only feature I would pay extra for.
