cMBP 13' ram solder is failing

[William7]

So here is my situation, I am a college student who walks to class everyday and carries my laptop everywhere in my backpack. I have had to have the ribbon cable replaced 2x because it broke, according to our schools it department from the stress of being carried around in a backpack. Now I am having a different issue in which the ram solder is failing for the same reason (stress of being carried). My laptop is out of warranty so I have a couple options, first I can test my computer and in the event that only one slot is failing I can buy one large memory stick and but it in the good slot, second I can have the logic board replaced and it should be fully functional, or third I can upgrade to a retina which doesn't have either of the issues I have experienced and trade in/sell my current laptop for whatever that gets me.

My question is have you experienced any of these issues or similar? Is it worth it to repair mine or should I get a new one? And are there any known issues with the retina mbp that are caused by the stress of carrying it around in a backpack all the time?

 

[T5BRICK]

How exactly did you determine that the RAM solder is failing?

You could always buy replacement RAM and install that instead of whatever is in there now.

 

[William7]

The ram passes all tests and works, in fact the whole computer passes all hardware tests the only time it fails is when the connection fails. The it staff at my university recognized the issue bc they see it fairly frequently.

 

[bookwormsy]

I'd try to upgrade to a retina, and get Applecare. Also, try to be more careful with your bag, yeah?

 

[simonsi]

The ram passes all tests and works, in fact the whole computer passes all hardware tests the only time it fails is when the connection fails. The it staff at my university recognized the issue bc they see it fairly frequently.

Your machine doesn't have soldered RAM to the motherboard, so if they mean the soldered connector is failing that would imply you have two good memory sticks. Prove this by running each stick on its own in each slot. If the error occurs when either stick is in one slot only then the problem is with that connector.

On the RAM module the individual RAM chips are soldered to the module but I know of no method of applying physical stress to either the connector or chip solder so I'm not sure where your dept is coming from there.

If you find the error is confined to one slot only then you may have the cheap option of buying a single module to replace the previous two and put that in the good slot.