RS-232 link at 120 kbps — the 5 V workhorse
The 120 kbps data rate covers the common 115200 baud ceiling with margin, but you won't push it past that — the charge-pump switching and slew-rate limits cap out around there. Receiver hysteresis of 500 mV cleans up noise on cables up to a few meters; below that threshold the input treats ringing as valid data.
If your board runs 3.3 V logic, you'll need a separate 5 V supply or a 3.3 V-compatible RS-232 part like the MAX3232 family. At 85°C the charge-pump efficiency drops; budget a few extra milliamps from the 5 V rail if the ambient runs hot.
The wide body means more copper for heat spreading — not that this part dissipates much (typical quiescent current is a few mA), but it helps in reflow.
For dual-sourcing resilience, the MAX232 family includes multiple package and temperature variants — the base MAX232 is a direct functional equivalent in a narrower SOIC-16 package, though the footprint differs.