High durability standard computers, How much protection from sudden USB voltage spikes do they have?

[Cyberstorm64]

I have an asus TUF Gaming FX505DY and from the factory, with no changes it is advertised to have passed Mil-STD 810G testing. I was wondering, how much protection does this laptop have against being fried by certain USB devices... 

[Levent]

You are confusing terms. USB host (the PC) device will supply the voltage the USB client (a phone, USB flash drive, etc) device. A USB client can be short to ground and it will pretty much fry the USB controller. I am not sure if there are devices offer some sort of short to ground protection but I had devices where I was warned for over-current draw.

USB host supplies the voltage, USB client is powered with it. If your USB host has voltage spikes, it will cause internal issues before you fry a USB device.

[Cyberstorm64]

Just now, Levent said:

You are confusing terms. USB host (the PC) device will supply the voltage the USB client (a phone, USB flash drive, etc) device. A USB client can be short to ground and it will pretty much fry the USB controller. I am not sure if there are devices offer some sort of short to ground protection but I had devices where I was warned for over-current draw.

USB host supplies the voltage, USB client is powered with it. If your USB host has voltage spikes, it will cause internal issues before you fry a USB device.

Guess what, This exists (see uploaded image) Plug this into your computer's USB port and the least it can do is make it so you will never use that USB port again. (Source: This video --> 

Trust me, that Music Video is not even present in that video, it about how you should never plug a USB device from a untrusted source into your computer. 

The question was, do computers with a higher durability standard, such as the ASUS TUF line of computers, etc. have less of a chance of being made entirely unusable by things like the device in the image? or is it about the same?

[Levent]

-

7 minutes ago, Cyberstorm64 said:

Guess what, This exists (see uploaded image) Plug this into your computer's USB port and the least it can do is make it so you will never use that USB port again. (Source: This video --> 

Trust me, that Music Video is not even present in that video, it about how you should never plug a USB device from a untrusted source into your computer. 

That sort of devices existed as long as there were computers, nothing new there. If you are dumb enough to plug everything you get your hands on to your computer you are dumb enough to pay for a new motherboard. 

7 minutes ago, Cyberstorm64 said:

The question was, do computers with a higher durability standard, such as the ASUS TUF line of computers, etc. have less of a chance of being made entirely unusable by things like the device in the image? or is it about the same?

There is a very good chance that TUF is just another shitty branding scheme, just like ROG bullshit Asus keeps on using. You can try emailing their support and see if the laptop you originally mentioned has for protection against this (I personally wouldnt get my hopes up).

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Cyberstorm64 said:

I have an asus TUF Gaming FX505DY and from the factory, with no changes it is advertised to have passed Mil-STD 810G testing. I was wondering, how much protection does this laptop have against being fried by certain USB devices... 

mil-STD is often referred to as “mil spec” they tend to be expensive to do.  To find out what the test was I suggest looking up the specific test.  They generally involve drop, water, or dust resistance, but it varies a lot.  I don’t know of one that involves the specific thing you describe but I’m not very knowledgeable about them.  

I’ve only ever bought one device that passed a milspec test but it is still going.  It’s actually in my hand as I type.  Ironically it does actually have a USB port but I doubt very much that port is particularly rugged.  It is behind a big rubber plug and metal plate which is difficult to remove.

[Kilrah]

It's complete marketing BS. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIL-STD-810

 

Quote

Applicability to "ruggedized" consumer products

MIL-STD-810 is a flexible standard that allows users to tailor test methods to fit the application. As a result, a vendor's claims of "...compliance to MIL-STD-810..." can be misleading, because no commercial organization or agency certifies compliance, commercial vendors can create the test methods or approaches to fit their product. Suppliers can—and some do—take significant latitude with how they test their products, and how they report the test results. When queried, many^[quantify] manufacturers will admit no testing has actually been done and that the product is only designed/engineered/built-to comply with the standard^{[citation needed]}. This is because many of the tests described can be expensive to perform and usually require special facilities. Consumers who require rugged products should verify which test methods that compliance is claimed against and which parameter limits were selected for testing. Also, if some testing was actually done they would have to specify: (i) against which test methods of the standard the compliance is claimed; (ii) to which parameter limits the items were actually tested; and (iii) whether the testing was done internally or externally by an independent testing facility.^[21]

So basically unless they specify what tests have been made it might as well be "we specified a test that is always passed and it passed that". 

[Cyberstorm64]

On 9/18/2021 at 8:11 PM, Levent said:

-

That sort of devices existed as long as there were computers, nothing new there. If you are dumb enough to plug everything you get your hands on to your computer you are dumb enough to pay for a new motherboard. 

There is a very good chance that TUF is just another shitty branding scheme, just like ROG bullshit Asus keeps on using. You can try emailing their support and see if the laptop you originally mentioned has for protection against this (I personally wouldn't get my hopes up).

The TUF Laptop comes with an antistatic grounding and shielding sleeve for the stock NVME drive, it also includes shielding for the SATA Drives... Also, I am glad I learned those existed, and will definitely inspect USB devices I end up obtaining more thoroughly before inserting them... 

The question was "If one of those USB devices is somehow inserted into a stock ASUS TUF Gaming laptop, do the extra hardware protection features actualy protect against that

 

[Kilrah]

No, most likely not.

[Bombastinator]

11 hours ago, Cyberstorm64 said:

The TUF Laptop comes with an antistatic grounding and shielding sleeve for the stock NVME drive, it also includes shielding for the SATA Drives... Also, I am glad I learned those existed, and will definitely inspect USB devices I end up obtaining more thoroughly before inserting them... 

The question was "If one of those USB devices is somehow inserted into a stock ASUS TUF Gaming laptop, do the extra hardware protection features actualy protect against that

 

So how would protection for NVMEs protect USB drives?