Review on StarTech.com PCI Express RS232 Serial Adapter Card - PCIe RS232 Serial Host Controller Card - PCIe to Serial DB9 - 16950 UART - Low Profile Expansion Card - Compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux (PEX1S953LP) by Brandon Roberts

I first bought a Gearhead USB to serial converter from my local computer store to use with my new Dell Inspiron 3000 computer running Windows 8.1. Big mistake! Should have checked the reviews on Revain first. Gearhead came with a driver CD and the box said it was compatible with Windows 8. Not correct. The driver loads with a Windows crash in Device Manager about the missing virtual memory. Anyway, couldn't get it to work. Back to the store. I ordered a StarTech adapter from Revain which is recommended by Revain users and is known to work with Windows 8. When it arrived I actually plugged the USB end into my Dell and Windows automatically detected the driver via Windows Update. Didn't even have to load drivers from disk. Worked great with my Dylos Laser Particle Counter which only has a serial port. Now the particle count chart on the PC. The 6ft cable with Startech adapter is 6ft long; important when monitoring in real time with a fairly large particle counter and should keep a laptop somewhere nearby.