gakinsella :
my motherboard was seriously damaged but the attached surge protector was not damaged. How can this happen?
First start with what a destructive surge may be. Typically a massive and short current that seeks earth ground. Current means it must have both an incoming and outgoing path through your motherboard.
What does a surge protector do? Either it somehow stops and absorbs that surge (the myth that promotes an adjacent protector). Or it connects that current to all other wires.
You have not described the entire building. So this possible scenario will describe a typical building and typical damage. Surge was incoming on AC mains. Again, that current is seeking earth. One shortest path is into your house and out to earth ground via some other computer connection.
Normally that surge on the black (hot) wire would be blocked by a power supply. But that current is particularly large (aggressive) or the protector has simply connected that current on all other wires (neutral wire and green safety ground wire). Now it has a path bypassing the power supply and connecting direct into motherboard.
Surge current also needs is a path outgoing to earth ground. To ground via modem and phone line. Or outgoing via network wire? Or maybe the table top is a conductor into the a conductive concrete floor or vinyl tile (just like wooden church steeples conduct surges destructively). Or maybe a mouse wire is touching a baseboard heater? The computer could have numerous outgoing destructive paths to earth which is why the surge harmed that computer.
Worse, a plug-in protector did exactly what its specifications claim. It may have even provided that surge with other destructive paths to earth (as IEEE papers have stated and as we engineers saw when tracing that surge path).
You have assumed a "surge protector" is "surge protection". Those who use word association as a replacement for science routinely make that mistake. A protector is only a connecting device. Either it connects a surge harmlessly into earth OR is connects a surge onto other wires - leaving the surge to find earth destructively via household appliances. What is protection? Earth is where surge energy is harmlessly dissipated. But something must connect a surge to earth. That surge protector does not - and avoids the entire discussion.
All appliances contain surge protection. So that internal protection is not overwhelmed, earth a destructive surge before it can enter the building. If a connecting device makes a 'less than 10 foot' connection to earth, then a surge need not seek earth ground destructively via household appliances. That is how telcos all over the world do it. They don't waste good money on plug-in protectors. They connect a ‘whole house’ protector short to earth. And make that protection ‘system’ even better by separating electronics and protector by up to 50 meters. See that distance? That longer distance means even better protection. Short to earth ground. Longer distance between protector and electronics.
Meanwhile, the naive assume an expensive protector means better protection. Well a $7 protector selling in grocery stores is the same protector circuit selling in a $150 Monster Cable protector. Profits are excessive when the 'expert' does not first learn what a protector does.
Your protector did exactly what we have seen when the protector was too close to electronics and too far from single point earth ground. Effective retail solutions are available should you inquire. Bottom line: a protector is only as effective as its earth ground. Ineffective protectors avoid all discussion about earthing and have no dedicated (ie ‘less than 10 foot) earthing connection. You probably saw what happens too often.
Meanwhile, find the manufacturer specification that actually claims protection from each type of surge. It did exactly what its specs claim.
ofc most 6-9 dollar surge protectors don't have one lol
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