The fact that it's not consistently black screened an beeping three times every time I try to boot it makes me wonder if it really is a normal RAM issue. Note: the crash has occurred while using different applications on different occasions. The crash usually occurs within 1 minute of opening the lid and beginning usage after it has been asleep. Other times I'll be able to get a few days of use without it occurring (with charging overnight). Sometimes it will work for hours off the charger without the crash, but happen multiple times in one day.

Then, after an indefinite period of usage, the crash will come again. However, recently I've found that if I plug it into the charger when it's in that state, my MacBook immediately starts booting and functioning properly. When it's in that state, I can wait an indefinite amount of time before it will start up again without issue (the 1-2 times this worked, it crashed, I pressed the power button, got the 3-beeps, shut it down, and tried again about 1.5hrs later and it booted normally).

I've read that this indicates a RAM issue however, there's more. Now, about 3-4 months after resolving that issue, my MacBook will enter a particular state: it will randomly crash, and on restart stay black screened and beep 3 times no matter how many ones I try to reboot. This issue was resolved by removing the second RAM stick from the bottom slot, and using only one stick in the top.

I used to have RAM in both slots working fine for over 6 months, but then suddenly I had an issue where the screen would distort with vertical lines and crash when I picked up the device from below the track pad area, or put pressure near the trackpad (even just normally resting my hand to type). I currently have 1x8GB of RAM in my MacBook in the top slot. I've been battling a potential RAM issue for some time now, but a recent discovery has led me to seek more answers about the specificity of the RAM issue.

Mid 2012 macbook pro 3 beeps