StarTech.com 4 Port PCI Express PCIe Serial Combo Card - 2 x RS232 2 x RS422 / RS485

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

StarTech’s 4‑port PCIe serial combo card is a solid “just add serial” option if you’re stuck supporting older kit—industrial controllers, lab instruments, SCADA gear, UPS systems, cash/label hardware, that sort of thing. The mix of two RS232 and two RS422/RS485 is the sweet spot for mixed environments: you can retire multiple legacy serial connections without buying separate cards, and the price (about £116 ex‑VAT) is reasonable for the time it saves versus faffing around with USB‑to‑serial dongles or separate adapters. In practice, it’s a good fit for servers or small industrial PCs where you want stable, direct COM port access and clean cabling.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it if your goal is “best possible serial performance” in a modern networking sense—this is still serial, and you’ll need to be comfortable with device-specific baud rates, wiring, and termination for RS485. Also, if you only need one or two ports, it may be overkill; USB serial or cheaper single/dual‑port PCIe cards can be more cost-effective. Finally, check your chassis and OS/driver expectations: PCIe options are great, but legacy serial support lives or dies on drivers and COM port behaviour—so if you’re deploying at scale, it’s worth testing on your target Windows/Linux build before you commit.