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A customer in Tacoma argued that board-level repair is a waste of time now
He brought in a 5 year old laptop with a failed GPU, insisting I just swap the whole motherboard for $400. I said I could reflow the chip for under $100, but he claimed modern electronics are too integrated to fix. This was at my shop on 6th Avenue. Do you still find board repair worthwhile, or is he right?
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terrybennett2mo ago
Reflow for a hundred bucks? That's a steal.
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henry_martinez2mo ago
Reflows can be a good stopgap, but they often fail again because the root flaw isn't fixed. A proper reball with new solder is more reliable, but that costs more. It's about offering the right fix for the customer's budget and how long they need the machine to last.
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piperwhite2mo ago
Stick a thermocouple under the chip next time you reflow and watch the actual temp curve... you'll see why most shops skip the real reball when they can.
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