StarTech.com 4-port PCI Express RS232 Serial Adapter Card - PCIe RS232 Serial Host Controller Card - PCIe to Serial DB9 - 16950 UART - Low Profile Expansion Card - Windows/Linux - TAA

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

If you need extra legacy serial ports, this StarTech PCIe-to-DB9 card is a sensible, low-risk buy for the money. At ~£84 ex-VAT, you’re paying for something that generally just works with the usual Windows/Linux serial stacks, and it’s particularly handy in environments with KVM/console servers, barcode/scales, telemetry gear, industrial controllers, or any “we still need COM ports” situation. The fact it’s a 4-port card also makes it good value if you’re building out a small rack server or office device that doesn’t have room for a USB-to-serial dongle full of questionable drivers.

That said, I’d only buy it if you truly need PCIe serial rather than USB. USB-to-serial is sometimes “good enough” and can be cheaper and easier to swap, but it can be more variable depending on adapters. Also, if this is going into modern servers that are sensitive to low-profile fit or you’re expecting truly high-throughput or heavily buffered industrial use, you’ll want to validate your software/OS requirements—serial is notoriously sensitive to driver settings and cable quality. For most UK B2B admin and ops teams, though, this is a fair-priced, dependable way to add COM ports when you can’t (or don’t want to) go legacy-hardware-through-USB.