Brainboxes recently introduced it’s exciting new range of PCI Express cards in January this year. Leading with the release of their eight port cards – PX-279 (DB9) and PX-275 (DB25), which are supplied with Brainboxes’ acclaimed Serial Solutions software, which is installed in tens of thousands of systems worldwide and is recognised to provide industry leading stability and reliability.Now Brainboxes are releasing the next products in this growing range – the PX-420 (4 port RS232) and PX-431 (3 port RS232). Both products feature multiple RS232 ports to add reliable and high-speed connectivity via any standard PCIe slot (x1, x2, x4, x8 or x16 lane slots). True megabaud line drivers carry information at 921,600 baud, and 256 byte FIFOs with a user definable trigger level ensure the highest levels of data integrity, reducing the likelihood of dropped packets. 

What is PCI Express?

PCI Express is a 2-way, serial I/O technology that carries data in packets, similar to the way it is transferred over Ethernet. Unlike standard PCI technology, the PCIe bus is no longer a single parallel data bus through which all data is routed at a set rate. PCIe is an assembly of serial, point-to-point wired and individually clocked ‘lanes’ which each consist of two pairs of data lines carries data upstream and downstream. 

“Brainboxes is now seeing more and more companies incorporating PCIe slots into PC and server designs, which is speeding up the move to the new technology,” comments Stephen Evans, Managing Director of Brainboxes. “Current forecasts show that PCIe slots will have replaced PCI in the majority of PCs by late 2009. “Brainboxes’ new range of PX serial cards offer reliable and high-speed serial communications, while our software and support reassure our customers that reliability or compatibility are never issues they need to worry about”.

The Brainboxes ‘PX’ PCIe range benefits from a complete suite of software included with the cards and an acclaimed lifetime customer support package – elements that have made Brainboxes the serial card supplier of choice for companies around the world. Brainboxes PX cards are compliant with PCIe version 1.0a and supplied software includes sample programs and test and terminal software, complete with source code. PX cards incorporate signed drivers for Microsoft Server 2008, Vista, XP, and Server 2003 in x32 bit x64 bit editions and Windows 2000.