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A comment on New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple supplied... . Parent comment

Re:New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple... by cube13 on Thursday May 12, 2011 @12:10PM (#2541065)
I think the main reason that Apple(and a lot of other manufacturers) use these is because they simplify automated assembly. Since they're using torque wrenches to screw it in, it's better to have a screw head that won't allow the bit to fall out. Since the Torx screws can be flush with the surface they're preferable to using a hex bolt.

On another note, this is perhaps the first time ever that a DYI advocate is complaining about needing to buy a new tool. At this point, if you're a remotely serious electronics hobbyist, you should have one anyway.

EDIT: Grammar fail.

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Re:New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple... by adestefan on Thursday May 12, 2011 @12:49PM (#2541254)
This is exactly the reason why they are used. You can set the torque on a screw gun and go to town on an automated or semi-automated assembly line.

Phillips type screws are designed to do exactly the opposite and are terrible when used in automated assembly. Phillips was invented when it was expensive to make clutch assemblies for screw guns. Instead of the screw gun slipping the screw just made the bit slip out of it.

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Re:New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple... by joe_bleau on Thursday May 12, 2011 @01:21PM (#2541398)
Can't you use a torque wrench with the far more common Torx fasteners? It seems to me that they selected Torx TS fasteners for a reason, and that reason had nothing to do with automated assembly.
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Re:New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple... by cube13 on Thursday May 12, 2011 @02:42PM (#2541796)
There isn't a post in these, though. So they're not the secure(TS) version, just a 5-point.
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Re:New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple... by smackfu on Thursday May 12, 2011 @12:57PM (#2541286)
Aren't these actually called Security Torx heads?
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Re:New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple... by evgen on Thursday May 12, 2011 @02:13PM (#2541658)
A "security torx" has a small post in the center so that your torx driver requires a hollow center.
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Re:New iMacs run fans at full on all drives other than Apple... by jarin on Friday May 13, 2011 @12:19AM (#2543531)
Screw head escalation and countermeasures seem to have a lot in common with DRM.

In fact, I'm going to coin the term "Physical Rights Management", or PRM :)

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