Adafruit: From Ultimate Driving Machine to Ultimate Rent-Seeking Machine: The BMW Logo Screw Patent.
If you haven’t already heard, BMW’s R&D teams have been busy “innovating.” Unfortunately, they aren’t focusing on the things that actually matter—like stellar engine performance or the legendary driving dynamics that gearheads love. Instead, the C-suite execs decided that the best use of their engineering budget was to design a proprietary security screw specifically intended to prevent BMW drivers from fixing their own cars.
Everything is going to be soldered except on some mid and high-end corporate laptops within a couple generations. Those, and desktops will use CAMM. My prediction.
Torx is a superior screw though. On low-torque applications, sure, Phillips is a bit more convenient.
Reason being, it’s very difficult to cam-out or round a torx head if you are using the right size driver.
Torx are absolutely my go-to for general construction screw, when I’m using an impact driver and can zoom zoom zoom. Quite satisfying.
I think the reason torx wins in laptops and pre-built PCs is probably because they are much better for assembly-line or automated assembly. The right tools are always there and will always securely grab the screw.
If you slip with a screwdriver on a main board, you can easily destroy the main board. Making torx superior for large-scale assembly.
My dad wrecked his Abit BH6 back in the day, trying to secure the slotket for an upgrade (to a Malay Celeron 300A), due to the screwdriver slipping out. Managed to slice an SMD capacitor right in half. Good for him, even at like 55 he was able to hand-solder a replacement in and revive the board.