StarTech.com 2-Port PCI Express Serial Card, Dual Port PCIe to RS232 (DB9) Serial Card, 16C1050 UART, Standard or Low Profile Brackets, COM Retention, For Windows & Linux

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For £45 ex-VAT, this StarTech dual-port RS232 card is the sort of “quiet utility hero” you buy when you have legacy kit that absolutely refuses to speak anything modern. If you’re running Windows or Linux boxes in the UK with serial gear—think routers/console servers, some industrial controllers, old measurement equipment—this is a sensible, low-fuss way to add two extra COM ports without faffing with USB serial adaptors that can be flaky or driver-dependent. StarTech is usually solid on compatibility, and the presence of low-profile + standard brackets plus COM retention means you’re less likely to break existing software that expects COM3/COM4 to stay put.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it if you’re trying to “modernise” anything. RS232 is slow and electrically temperamental over distance, and for new deployments USB-to-serial or Ethernet/serial consoles are often easier to manage—especially where you need more than a couple of ports or hot-plug reliability. Also, if you’re planning high-throughput serial workloads or strict timing (certain industrial telemetry patterns), verify your device’s baud rate and signal requirements first; most people only discover the gotchas after the fact. Bottom line: great value for small, legacy serial port needs—less ideal if you’re building something forward-looking or needing more scale.