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arcobb

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 3, 2005
250
5
Colorado
Hello!

I saw this question as part of another thread but it didn't really get anwsered so I'm asking as it's own tread. If you keep your display (not a SR MBP) at 50% all the time, will the display have a longer life ... or does it matter? Thanks!
 
Of course. If the screen is not as bright, it won't use as much battery power.

Think you misread the question, I believe it was referring to the life span of the screen itself. otherwise it would've been answered in the original thread because the answer is so obvious. As to the actual answer i have no idea.
 
I don't know, but the displays will last a long time either way. Don't worry about it.
 
Think you misread the question, I believe it was referring to the life span of the screen itself. otherwise it would've been answered in the original thread because the answer is so obvious. As to the actual answer i have no idea.

Correct, I meant the life span of the screen itself. I know that the do dim over time and I was curious if the brightness was a factor or not. No, I'm not concerned ... just curious if it had an effect on the lifespan. Thanks!
 
A tv repairman once told me about LCD and DLP etc screens..

A screen only has so many heat*hours in its lifetime, so if it is cold it will last longer, and if it is hot is will wear out faster.

We were talking about putting a fan into the back of an expensive 50 inch tv to prolong its life, but if turning the brightness down has a strong effect on the heat, then that's good too.

Thing is, I'm not sure that backlight level has any bearing on heat now that they use LED lighting. Even CCFL is not really very hot (cold-cathode flourescent light).
 
I am sure it has some effect on extending the life of the backlight, but probably not enough to worry about. Maybe someone else that may have a more definitive answer could chime in.
 
I just leave my fully lit all the time, except when running it on batteries
 
Just leave your screen the way you like it.

I leave my plasma tv on the settings that make my eyes happy even though it might "burn out" faster. So what? I use Apple computers, Panasonic plasma tv, and Canon HD video cameras.

All are quality products. I'm not worried. By the time I "use it up" enough to buy a new one,

1. there will be something better
2. if not better, the same item will be much, much cheaper
3. I already got my money's worth out of the item using it the way I wanted to

If I owned a Ferrari, I'd drive it everyday if I wanted to. My friend bought a Ferrari 348 years ago and kept it in his garage for "special occasions". He later sold it for a loss and the only thing he regretted was not driving it more often (given how much he paid for insurance).

You bought it, use it the way you want to!
 
While LCDs, plasmas and LEDs do have a fixed lifetime, their useful life far exceeds the useful life of the product you are buying. You are more likely to replace the product with something newer, better, faster, etc., before the backlihgt burns out.

And the LED lights on the new MBPs do not dim over time like CCFL lights of other LCD displays - so use at a brightness level that pleases you and battery life you want. The LED display will look as good a year or two from now as it did the day your first used your laptop.
 
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