ASUS TUF Monitor Blocks Stray Bullet During Late Night Call of Duty Session

Photo credit: Antisocialnae
One Redditor known online as antisocialnae had settled into a late night Call of Duty session a few days earlier when sudden loud bangs outside the house made it obvious the noise was not coming from the game. Immediate reaction brought the player down to the floor before a call went out to 911. The operator checked that everyone was okay and asked whether any rounds might have come through the wall. Checking the area behind the desk setup revealed a single hole in the drywall, and the main monitor showed clear impact damage from the rear with no exit mark on the front of the screen.

The photos in the original post show the exterior entry point, the interior wall, which was nearly destroyed by a hole punched through the drywall and covered in drywall dust, and the back of the ASUS TUF VG258QM, a 24.5 inch Full HD display with a TN panel, which had a fairly large hole in the plastic housing where the round had struck it. That monitor was purchased five years ago for $280, which was a relatively low price for the high-spec display with a 280Hz refresh rate and a 0.5ms response time. It was the focal point of a first gaming setup. The ‘TUF’ trademark stands for The Ultimate Force, by the way. In the photos of the LCD panel itself, you can just about see a break or impact mark, however the display continued to show game menus and functioned properly outside the damaged part.

The gamer later stated that the monitor just stopped the round from moving any farther into the room, where it could have hit the person directly or managed to get past the screen and strike the PC behind it, depending on where it was heading, I suppose. After the immediate danger had gone, it all hit home, leaving the athlete in tears. The post was captioned “Best $280 I ever spent!” and it received a lot of attention, with gaming and hardware sites all covering it, and the photographs made it all very clear: outer wall, inside drywall, and then the back of the monitor.

An ASUS spokesperson responded directly to the Reddit thread, stating that the firm takes pride in their monitors’ durability, and in this case, the one had gone much beyond what you’d anticipate in a situation like this. They stated that they will contact me to explore what could be done, but that because the damage was physical and most likely caused by the customer, it would not be covered under the normal guarantee. Although they did say they’d consider it on a case-by-case basis, there’s still no word on a replacement.

Anyone examining the details sees that the walls performed the majority of the work. The round had already passed through exterior siding and interior drywall before reaching the monitor, which reduced its energy enough for the plastic housing and internal components to stop it. Gaming displays must meet certain criteria for shock, vibration, temperature, and dust, but ballistic resistance requires an entirely separate set of testing, and this was never intended to be a bullet-proof barrier. Nonetheless, the owner was left with a functional screen despite the evident damage, as well as an incredible story about how a five-year-old purchase became an unlikely lifesaver during a fairly regular gaming session.
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