Quoted from ForceFlow:

Why risk it?

Quoted from ForceFlow:

That's a bit of a false equivalency arguement.
The point was that batteries leak, they are well known to leak, and have destroyed countless boards by leaking.
There are inexpensive alternatives (NVRAM), which don't leak and will never leak, and will likely last for the lifetime of the pin. You will never have to worry about batteries ever again.
Again, why risk a leaking battery? It doesn't make sense to me to install a known flawed product that is well documented for causing damage, instead of using something you only have to install once and never have to worry about again.

Quoted from Otaku:

And in contrast, your teeth aren't going to explode and ruin your mouth. Sure, they can get bad if you don't brush them but are easily maintained and can be checked on. Batteries can not be "maintained", there is no way to assure they don't leak. You maintain them by replacing them when they die to assure your game keeps getting a charge, but only all the while hoping they don't leak (which is an entirely different issue). There is no upkeep on a specific set of batteries. They leak when they want and can be very unpredictable.
Even if you didn't brush your teeth it would take a long time for them to fall out, which is basically equivalent to the factory original solder-on batteries that take 20-30 years to leak anyways rather than the normal AA-batteries used in some machines. They leaked, but it took forever.

Quoted from ForceFlow:

It's true that various components are obsolete, but they don't cause damage to a game. Alkaline and NiCad batteries do. Lithium coin cell batteries are safer to use, but they still leak eventually. I've seen more than a few Gottlieb System 3 MPUs with leaking coin cell batteries.

Quoted from Swainer80:

"False equivalence is a common result when an anecdotal similarity is pointed out as equal, but the claim of equivalence doesn't bear because the similarity is based on oversimplification or ignorance of additional factors."
So, yes it is.
Until you repair alkaline damage or pay $350 for a new board, saying batteries on a mpu is a bad idea is not OCD. I remove every battery holder off the board and put it in a remote one. It costs me around 2 bucks and the board is never at risk for alkaline damage. One day my cheap ass will get NV ram installed.

Quoted from Homepin:

The biggest problem I see with fitting NVRAM, and this is mentioned with a new thread every second week here on Pinside, is the potential board damage when removing the original RAM.
I really don't know what they were thinking when these WPC boards were made - to solder in a RAM was just plain stupid by any sensible reasoning.
RAM is easy to spike and more static sensitive than many other chips. Pretty well every other manufacturer using RAM always socketed them for these reasons.
Unless the NVRAM is fitted by someone who is VERY competent with board repair I vote for leaving things alone and using lithium batteries.
Too many perfectly serviceable boards have been destroyed, or at the least damaged and had traces replaced with jumper wires, with people attempting to fit NVRAM.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it".