QOTD: How Should We Test Rugged Laptops?

[mcvf]

So where to start? Lets see if we can get some of these real-world tests done:
1. free-fall from 1.5m - very crutial test, test it when laptop is close, when is opened and when it falls opened on the side
2. running full benchmarks or games (cpu+gpu) in environment with 35 degrees of celsia for few hours
3. spit caffee over it, let it dry then try to remove it by washing it by water and switch it on
4. test how large hit can screen itself handle - i guess it should handle 1kg object free-falling from 1m height on opened screen
5 apply significant pressure (lets say 30kgs) on the laptop keyboard and try if all keys still properly works
6. run cpu+gpu benchmark in a very dusty enviroment (maybe dirty factory or sawmill) and higher environment temperature for few hours
7. let somebody on bike to roll over the laptop

 

[htmaster]

MIL-STD 901D testing. Be sure to post the video of the explosive barge test.

MIL-STD 810F Methods 501.4, 502.4, 503.4, 504.4, 505.4, 507.4, 510.4.

Those should put be adequate. Although, I doubt you'll be willing to spend the dinero to do it. A truly rugged laptop should be able to pass all of the 810F tests listed as well as 901D. Sadly, none have in my experience.

 

[Anomalyx]

*sigh* The answer is already in a previous article, from April!
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/laptop-helicopter-life-link-hospital-death,news-33292.html
Just don't go smashing kids to death.

 

[p00dl3_h3r0]

There should also be a test involving VERY hard closing of the laptop. AS mentioned before, leave it in the bed of a truck, sand, mud, drop tests etc. Sand blasting the screen would also be good.

 

[transient_one]

A couple of good tests. A few for the travelers.....
-Drop from height of an overhead bin on an airplane to the floor.
-Run through x-ray machine several hundred times.
-Drop from x-ray conveyor belt to the floor.
-Leave laptop outside in car on a -30 degree North Dakota night.
-How does the keyboard work if you're wearing gloves.
-Work on laptop as a passenger in a car driven over very rough terrain.
-Screen hinge strength, repetitive open and close
-Spill test of many liquids: hot coffee, sticky slurpee/soda, salt water (or something that will conduct electricity).
-Kid test: key pull-off, fingers on screen, LCD push-test.

 

[gustavost]

How about lend out a couple of laptops to some to say "not so carefull" youths for a week or so and then do a healt check!

 

[qbnsuperman]

put it in the clothes dryer.

 

[metalicaman8]

drop test. I like the dryer idea above. water submersion test (if laptop advertises water resistance). Bury in sand/dirt for a given period of time. heat/cold test (aka put it in the oven/freezer then try to use it after). screen scratch test.

 

[kingssman]

I you guys wanna have fun (day off) go take it on a camping trip and use it in the grass, dirt, or take it to the beach and use it on the sand (or burry in sand).
Another in house would be to drop from table height onto carpeted floor, then onto hard floor.
Take outside, drop in into the grass, then drop it onto the parking lot.
get a garden hose and use a mist spray on it, or let a water sprinkler dribble on it (anything to simulate mild to severe rain)

Basically any impact testing will break it (notice iphone drop test after the 3rd test) and water will eventually of course break it if submerged (but should withstand sprinkles.)

A toughbook is pretty much an outdoor on the job notebook that survives the riggors of combat duty, field duty, or construction sites. So the thing needs to survive nature's elements, not man made disasters (laptop frisbee)

 

[Stihy]

-test battery life while using wifi, bt or 3g
-test liquid spill with 0.5 liters / coffee, tea, juice, water
- 20 min rain test
-drop test from 1m and 2 meter hight
-power cord pull test ( to check power cord soldering quality)
-hit it with hammer on - keyboard, casing, lcd and determent cracking limits
-gloves usage test
-x ray and radiation exposure test
-place it in a box threw vacuum cleaner bag content inside and leave it for 48h and check temperatures.
-repetitive over-voltage, under-voltage, power surge tests
-exposure to smoke test

 

[mauller07]

strap it to the front of a vehicle, build a small breeze block wall and put 2 and 2 together.

drop it from a building then drop a ton of bricks on it.

put it in a box full of gas then accidentally forget that its flammable and have a smoke and then remember you don't actually smoke and throw the lit cigarette into the box.

give it to top-gear or just place it on the roof of a random Morris marina.

 

[Assmar]

Ship them via UPS.

 

[cookoy]

1) Check them in an airline with disgruntled baggage handlers.
2) Leave them in a room full of kindergarten kids, unsupervised.

 

[Marco925]

Run it over with a car

 

[cangelini]

[citation][nom]pacman993[/nom]Launching them like clay discs then shooting them down with shotguns.[/citation]

How'd I know we'd get that one? ;-)

 

[CTT]

Most "ruggedized" laptops have a nice wad of fine print telling you how they are "rugged" and what they are rated to withstand. On top of that, "rugged" is a very loose term and there are large variations between brand/model. In that context, and testing of these ruggedized features would have to be done in the confines of their stated use.

My personal experience, working with both Panasonic ToughBooks and General Dynamics GoBooks, is although they look tough and rugged, they don't perform much better than standard laptops when it comes to abuse of any sort.

 

[DavidB]

Seperate the tests into different categories/uses.

General:
Drop tests from 5-6 feet.
Heavy weights put on top of it(people and sandbags end up on them a lot)
Performance at higher temperatures.
Screen readability in daylight

Military - all should be able to have a person fall on them multiple times without breaking.
Desert: Sand and heat testing
Ocean: Salt water imersion
Forest: Dirt and water

Construction: (most damage will come from mistreatment, like being thrown into the back of a pickup truck)
Falling from increasing heights, a story at least.
Dirt/concrete clogging it up.
Lumber/concrete falling on it.

 

[megahustler]

1) Test if it actually lives up to its IP code (dust and water).

2) Test in some sort of vibration rig (computer running) to simulate using in moving car or what-ever.

3) Vibration rig (computer off), to test for component/soldering stability.

4) Drop test.

5) Test at limits of rated operating temperature (low/high).

6) Since a rugged notebook will probably be used outside, test using it in sunlight.

7) Test power-brick when using a shitty AC-line (think third-world power grid). (actually the power-brick should be tested just as well as the computer itself)

8) Battery life is pretty important, as the notebook will probably be used away from AC a lot.

 

[dragonfang18]

Look for what purpose they were built for, put these conditions to extreme threshold, and see how long the computer survives...

 

[vinehoyle]

1. Simulate tripping getting off a bus. College kids i know don't got a car so bus it is, right? 3 steps down and hard landing on ground, preferably gravel or some nasty surface. Maybe make it tougher by having say 100 lb sack of sand land on it after it hits the ground (peeps gotta land also lol)
2. You just know someones gonna get caught in the rain. Put in book bag and hose it down with garden hose for a good 30 minutes.
3. Run it in apt. with no AC. That should prove if it can take deep heat. Preferrably someplace hot like Arizona or something like that.
4. You just know some dumb kid just has to check his Facebook, even in the middle of a raging winter storm while waiting for cab, bus or friend to get him/her. Simulate it in a meat locker.
5. Yup, someone is definitely gonna haul it to the local park on a hot day. Hi humidity and sunlight is the order of the day. Should be pretty easy to hook up some space heaters and a few plant bulbs I would think.
5. Food test leakage. Sure as God made little green apples you just know someone is gonna stuff their food in the bag with the puter. Simulate what happens if say something busts open, like maybe sour cream. Wonder if it would turn on if it got a good soaking from something like cranberry juice lol!
Well that's my thoughts, hope it helps!

 

[ShadowFlash]

[citation][nom]CTT[/nom]Most "ruggedized" laptops have a nice wad of fine print telling you how they are "rugged" and what they are rated to withstand. On top of that, "rugged" is a very loose term and there are large variations between brand/model. In that context, and testing of these ruggedized features would have to be done in the confines of their stated use.My personal experience, working with both Panasonic ToughBooks and General Dynamics GoBooks, is although they look tough and rugged, they don't perform much better than standard laptops when it comes to abuse of any sort.[/citation]
I agree, although for my use ( manufacturing ) the GoBook holds up longer and usually is cheaper...My problem is in manufacturing, these are typically used as interfaces to machinery. Old machines take a serial RS232 ( a rarity on any computer now-a-days ) or a USB. What typically happens is these ports where out from repeated use, breaking off of the motherboard itself.

 

[JE_D]

Put the laptop on a desk 3-4 feet high and Pull the cord out really hard
to simulate tripping over the cord and see if it just pops out or if it just falls off the desk

 

[ScoobyJooby-Jew]

carry it like a lunch box when going places. swing it around. casual tosses into the back seat of a car.

 

[jdog2pt0]

-Leave it on a bed or your lap where air flow is minimal to nonexistent.
-Drop it from waist height on both carpet and tile/hardwood.
-Spill drinks on it both sticky/messy and something easy to clean up like water. Spill crumbs or other small foods on it.
-Test the screens scratch resistance with pens and fingernails
-Let small children handle it for a while
-(Probably with the one above) smash your hand/fist on the keyboard.
-Open and close the screen repeatedly

 

[babachoo]

Here's a couple of real world tests that I put a laptop through (accidentally), and it survived both of these tests with no problems at all. The notebook was a $1199 Asus G73 from Best Buy, in case you're wondering.

1. Carry laptop in backpack and the strap breaks. I kinda knelt a little as to try and minimize damage and fall distance. But overall, the laptop fell around 3 feet onto grass, probably hitting on one of its corners or thin edges, most likely the thin edge rather than all force distributed on a single corner.

2. Laptop was on a chair that spins around. Accidentally spun the chair around and laptop slid off sidways, hitting a hard concrete floor with no carpeting, falling a total of around 2 feet. Again no damage, I was impressed.