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by qbasic_forever 1389 days ago
Why in the world do small screws need nearly 20 ft-lbs of force? That's a level where I'd be breaking out a much larger torque wrench. I'd be shocked if the kind of small machine screws in a PC can even withstand that force.
4 comments

They don't. The screwdriver isn't meant for that.

Point is "adjusted the spring for lighter back-force" would normally mean the max torque you can use is reduced (because the spring slips). They state the max torque you can use to indicate the effect of the trade-off.

The fact that you think that the max torque is still way more than is needed, is probably why they advertise this. The fact that max torque is way higher than needed means they did not trade off too much max torque to reduce the back-force.

Because if somebody uses their $50 screwdriver to disassemble office furniture they don't want it to break.
"Instantaneous breaking force" or whatever it is can get pretty high, especially if the screw has been there for awhile, or there's any oxidation, etc.

Starting with the right driver (with a perfect tip that fits snugly) will reduce the chance of camout and can help remove them, but even then it can be a tricky situation at times.

I personally find that having a really long screw driver helps - I can get more torque without slipping.

High torques on small fasteners are common in electrical and hydraulic applications. But yeah, zero reason for huge amounts of torque in a computer case.
High torque on the mounting screws of some CPU coolers can significantly help thermal performance.