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Longevity of backlit keyboard?

dsprimal

dsprimal

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 27, 2010
628
0
I would believe having your backlit keyboard on max would kill the life span of the led lights? curious to know if anyone has it on max majority of the time to have the laptop look fancier ;) rather then those who use the backlit accordingly to prolong its life time.

But in the cases for those who do set the backlit keyboard on max for a long time (speaking of months, even years) any issues with it? any led lights or keys breaking or stopped working?
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
dsprimal said:
I would believe having your backlit keyboard on max would kill the life span of the led lights? curious to know if anyone has it on max majority of the time to have the laptop look fancier ;) rather then those who use the backlit accordingly to prolong its life time.

But in the cases for those who do set the backlit keyboard on max for a long time (speaking of months, even years) any issues with it? any led lights or keys breaking or stopped working?
Click to expand...

I haven't ever seen a keyboard backlight go out on a Mac. I really think you're worrying too much. Keep it as bright or dim as you want and chill.
 
chown33

chown33

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2009
10,767
8,468
A sea of green
dsprimal said:
I would believe having your backlit keyboard on max would kill the life span of the led lights?
Click to expand...

Did you bother to look into what the normal lifetime of LEDs is?

From the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode
Many of the LEDs produced in the 1970s and 1980s are still in service today. Typical lifetimes quoted are 25,000 to 100,000 hours but heat and current settings can extend or shorten this time significantly.​

Unless you've done a hardware mod and are overdriving the LEDs beyond their max current rating, I think something else will kill your computer long before the LEDs burn out.
 
dsprimal

dsprimal

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 27, 2010
628
0
lmao things like this are things PC users like myself used to worry over. Me being new to apple with my 1st ever mbp, just thought i'd ask the question, but now im realizing more and more that the premium purchase for one of these things are well worth it =]
 
A

Azathoth

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2009
659
0
dsprimal said:
lmao things like this are things PC users like myself used to worry over. Me being new to apple with my 1st ever mbp, just thought i'd ask the question, but now im realizing more and more that the premium purchase for one of these things are well worth it =]
Click to expand...

? Apple uses the same LEDs as everyone else (it´s not like they´re premium GaN or anything)

White leds have shorter lifetimes than the coloured leds *but* still typical led lifetimes are >30000hrs, before output is signifcantly reduced - that´s a lot of time in service
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
dsprimal said:
lmao things like this are things PC users like myself used to worry over. Me being new to apple with my 1st ever mbp, just thought i'd ask the question, but now im realizing more and more that the premium purchase for one of these things are well worth it =]
Click to expand...

LOL. So true. I absolutely love my Apple products. I just wish Apple gave us more BTO options. At the end of the day, they're so well made and have such a great design that there's nothing that truly competes with them. We are lucky to have Apple building Mac computers and we pay dearly for them.

So use it as the backlit keyboard is meant to be used at any normal setting.

Congrats on joining the club. Be prepared to fall in love.

Enjoy!
 
dsprimal

dsprimal

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 27, 2010
628
0
Scottsdale said:
LOL. So true. I absolutely love my Apple products. I just wish Apple gave us more BTO options. At the end of the day, they're so well made and have such a great design that there's nothing that truly competes with them. We are lucky to have Apple building Mac computers and we pay dearly for them.

So use it as the backlit keyboard is meant to be used at any normal setting.

Congrats on joining the club. Be prepared to fall in love.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thanks Scottsdale! Glad to be apart of it :D:apple:
 
G

gothamm

macrumors 6502a
Nov 18, 2007
844
3
since we are on longevity of backlighting....what about the laptop's display? when does it start losing its brightness/colors?
 
D

Deeya

macrumors member
May 14, 2010
76
0
I have a 4 year old MBP that was used every single day with the back lighting turned on to max brightness with Labtick (because the ambient light sensor failed first! lol) and the back lighting still looks like the day it was purchased.

It's even had 2 drinks spilled on it.
 
chaosbunny

chaosbunny

macrumors 68020
Mar 11, 2005
2,106
491
down to earth, far away from any clouds
Well, the light on my PowerBook G4s keyboard broke a little over a year of ownership – just outside of warranty. I guess there are other things that could be wrong apart from the leds itself.

Dear op, there is no need to stop worrying. Your new mac will have its own little quirks sooner or later. ;)
 
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