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LED display or not? How to check??

A

Aske

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 24, 2007
2
0
Copenhagen
Hello. Im new to this forum and to mac in general.

I recently bought a 15.4" MacBook Pro and I absolutely LOVE it!

However, Im not really sure, wether the display really is a LED display or not. Can anyone tell me how check it??

This is what it says in the System Profiler under Graphics/Displays:
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected

Im concerned with the LCD-word all over the place... shouldn't it be LED??

Cheers!
 
Just check which graphics chip you have in the System Profiler. If it's a Geforce 8600M GT, then you've got a MacBook Pro with an LED backlit display.

Anyhow, congratulations on your new Mac!
 
Aske said:
Hello. Im new to this forum and to mac in general.

I recently bought a 15.4" MacBook Pro and I absolutely LOVE it!

However, Im not really sure, wether the display really is a LED display or not. Can anyone tell me how check it??

This is what it says in the System Profiler under Graphics/Displays:
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected

Im concerned with the LCD-word all over the place... shouldn't it be LED??

Cheers!
Click to expand...

LCD = Liquid Crystal Display = The kind of display you have.
LED = Light Emitting Diode = The kind of backlighting for your LCD.

If you have a 2.2GHz or 2.4GHz MacBook Pro you have an LED-backlit LCD.
 
At the moment real LED displays do not exists. The best technology is "backlighting" by LEDs. As people usually do not like long phrases we speak ab LED displays, but tecnically speaking they are not.
Maybe in one or two years we'll see real LED diplays, or maybe not. Maybe OLED tecnology will be our future.
Anyway be sure you have the best display possible to have today.
 
Aske said:
Im concerned with the LCD-word all over the place... shouldn't it be LED??
Click to expand...

Nope. All MBPs still have LCDs. The LEDs are used to back light the screen instead of the fluorescent bulbs used in previous models.

You have a new MBP (with the LED backlight) if it's a 2.2ghz or a 2.4ghz model. If it's has a 2.0, 2.16, or 2.33 ghz chip it's the previous fluorescent backlight model.

EDIT: pretty much just repeated what the above posters said... i've got to remember to refresh tabs before replying.
 
what about apple repairs?

Here's a question for you. What if I had a second gen macbook pro in for repair and they replaced the display? Any way to tell what they put in there? I think the possibility of them putting in the older display and the newer one are equally plausible. They may not even be making the old displays any more for the macbook pros.
 
pinkUZI said:
Here's a question for you. What if I had a second gen macbook pro in for repair and they replaced the display? Any way to tell what they put in there? I think the possibility of them putting in the older display and the newer one are equally plausible. They may not even be making the old displays any more for the macbook pros.
Click to expand...

To maybe help answer this question, awhile back I was trying to replace my MBP screen (due to yellow issue) and the Apple geniuses told me that the part they order cannot be controlled and is always the same screen model matched to the serial number of the computer they're ordering it from. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure, but if it is it would mean you would not get an LED screen.
 
f1400 said:
To maybe help answer this question, awhile back I was trying to replace my MBP screen (due to yellow issue) and the Apple geniuses told me that the part they order cannot be controlled and is always the same screen model matched to the serial number of the computer they're ordering it from. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure, but if it is it would mean you would not get an LED screen.
Click to expand...

What prompted that response? Where you trying to trade for a glossy? They do have to make the optional components match the serial number, but the backlight isn't anything you specify and the LCDs are all one unit with the backlight. So either they continue to manufacture the old style just for replacement parts or they just trade in the new part when they need to. Either way still seems pretty likely to me.

What I'm wondering is if anyone can think of a non-intrusive test to determine what kind of backlight is there. Probably not possible.
 
pinkUZI said:
What prompted that response? Where you trying to trade for a glossy? They do have to make the optional components match the serial number, but the backlight isn't anything you specify and the LCDs are all one unit with the backlight. So either they continue to manufacture the old style just for replacement parts or they just trade in the new part when they need to. Either way still seems pretty likely to me.

What I'm wondering is if anyone can think of a non-intrusive test to determine what kind of backlight is there. Probably not possible.
Click to expand...

You do have a good point, I guess it would be hard to keep manufacturing every type of monitor. So maybe they do put LED screens in. Anyhow I think if you checked your monitor version (I can't remember how to do it but I think it's hidden somewhere), if you got one of the new panels i would IMAGINE the backlight would be LED as well since I think the panels and backlights come as one piece.
 
::Lisa:: said:
My MBP 17" says it has that graphics chip, yet I was told before I bought it that LED backlit ones weren't yet available in the UK.

Any reason why?
Click to expand...

LED backlighting is a new technique and is kinda expensive. That's why they started with the smaller size. The next MBP update will probably see LED across the board and the next macbook update will probably see them too.
 
Aske said:
Hello. Im new to this forum and to mac in general.

I recently bought a 15.4" MacBook Pro and I absolutely LOVE it!

However, Im not really sure, wether the display really is a LED display or not. Can anyone tell me how check it??

This is what it says in the System Profiler under Graphics/Displays:
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected

Im concerned with the LCD-word all over the place... shouldn't it be LED??

Cheers!
Click to expand...

If it's a new mac you can tell by other features what gen it is. If you have an nvidia and not a ati graphics card you have the led backlights.

The reason system profiler shows LCD is because your display is still an LCD display, not LED. Though work is being done on LED displays, they aren't ready for prime time yet. The LEDs on the macs are used for the backlight.
 
f1400 said:
You do have a good point, I guess it would be hard to keep manufacturing every type of monitor. So maybe they do put LED screens in. Anyhow I think if you checked your monitor version (I can't remember how to do it but I think it's hidden somewhere), if you got one of the new panels i would IMAGINE the backlight would be LED as well since I think the panels and backlights come as one piece.
Click to expand...

If anyone has a part number for the new display, I could compare that to the part number on my repair detail.
 
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