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When this happened to me, I was told that the memory can't be replaced without replacing the entire motherboard. Which means that after warranty period has pass

When this happened to me, I was told that the memory can't be replaced without replacing the entire motherboard. Which means that after warranty period has passed the machine is either very expensive to repair or unrepairable.

acdha 4y ago
That’s sadly true given the design trade offs: M1 CPU package includes RAM - that makes it fast by lowering latency and removes the category of errors related to physical sockets but means any failure requires the entire part to be replaced.
- oriolid 4y ago
  This was before M1. I'm not sure if there was a technical reason to not have a RAM socket but the chip was soldered directly to mainboard in any case.
  - acdha 4y ago
    Basically sockets add size, weight, and mechanical failure points (they can vibrate loose, you need an access panel, etc.). Since most people never use them over the life of the system it’s basically a bet that the RAM will fail less frequently than those other things, which is probably true but frustrating if you’re in the unlucky group.
    - oriolid 4y ago
      It's a small sample size but I've seen more failed RAM chips than other components together. And a socket would make upgrades easier. Which of course isn't great if you're trying to sell higher spec up front instead of giving the option to upgrade later if needed. I'm not sure why a separate access panel would be needed, the whole bottom is easy to remove with a pentalobe bit.
      - acdha 4y ago
        Yeah, I’d be curious what the overall numbers look like for a large swath of users. I’ve never had a Mac I support fail do to RAM - hard drives back in the day, fans, GPU, or logic boards - but I did have multiple PC & Mac users who had reliability problems which were fixed by reseating DIMMs which had come slightly loose.
lowbloodsugar 4y ago
Which is why I pay for the monthly AppleCare.
- yzydserd 4y ago
  TL;DR - Apple makes a huge profit on selling AppleCare. Recent estimates [0] shows that in 2021 Apple had revenue of $8.5B on Applecare while claims cost $2.6B. Also, the claim rate has been dropping YoY while revenue from AppleCare has been growing YoY. Almost always, insurance schemes are profit generators (ie not sold at a loss). The reason to buy into a scheme like AppleCare is because you couldn’t recover from an immediate loss. e.g. The only non-mandated insurance I pay for is House Building insurance. This is why I do not pay for AppleCare. [0] https://www.warrantyweek.com/archive/ww20211104.html#:~:text=In%20fiscal%202020%2C%20AppleCare%20sales,iPhone%20era%20(since%202007) https://www.warrantyweek.com/archive/ww20211104.html#:~:text....

acdha 4y ago

That’s sadly true given the design trade offs: M1 CPU package includes RAM - that makes it fast by lowering latency and removes the category of errors related to physical sockets but means any failure requires the entire part to be replaced.

oriolid 4y ago
This was before M1. I'm not sure if there was a technical reason to not have a RAM socket but the chip was soldered directly to mainboard in any case.
- acdha 4y ago
  Basically sockets add size, weight, and mechanical failure points (they can vibrate loose, you need an access panel, etc.). Since most people never use them over the life of the system it’s basically a bet that the RAM will fail less frequently than those other things, which is probably true but frustrating if you’re in the unlucky group.
  - oriolid 4y ago
    It's a small sample size but I've seen more failed RAM chips than other components together. And a socket would make upgrades easier. Which of course isn't great if you're trying to sell higher spec up front instead of giving the option to upgrade later if needed. I'm not sure why a separate access panel would be needed, the whole bottom is easy to remove with a pentalobe bit.
    - acdha 4y ago
      Yeah, I’d be curious what the overall numbers look like for a large swath of users. I’ve never had a Mac I support fail do to RAM - hard drives back in the day, fans, GPU, or logic boards - but I did have multiple PC & Mac users who had reliability problems which were fixed by reseating DIMMs which had come slightly loose.

lowbloodsugar 4y ago

Which is why I pay for the monthly AppleCare.

yzydserd 4y ago
TL;DR - Apple makes a huge profit on selling AppleCare. Recent estimates [0] shows that in 2021 Apple had revenue of $8.5B on Applecare while claims cost $2.6B. Also, the claim rate has been dropping YoY while revenue from AppleCare has been growing YoY. Almost always, insurance schemes are profit generators (ie not sold at a loss). The reason to buy into a scheme like AppleCare is because you couldn’t recover from an immediate loss. e.g. The only non-mandated insurance I pay for is House Building insurance. This is why I do not pay for AppleCare. [0] https://www.warrantyweek.com/archive/ww20211104.html#:~:text=In%20fiscal%202020%2C%20AppleCare%20sales,iPhone%20era%20(since%202007) https://www.warrantyweek.com/archive/ww20211104.html#:~:text....