Old C2D MBP CCFL Display Dimming, Replace With Newer LED Display?

[cashel]

I've got an old MBP C2D I purchased around October of 2006 that is still kicking strong. The display on it isn't near as bright as it used to be however, and I'm told this is because the CCFL dims over time. I'm also told LEDs don't dim over time, they either work full power or they don't work at all.

Just shooting this out there - is it possible to swap displays, or backlights, or whatever with a MBP non-unibody that has an LED display (were there any)? I'm not afraid of the difficulty in doing this, I've ripped this and many other macs/laptops to pieces and back many times before. I just need to know if it's possible and where the best (read: cheapest) place to find parts would be.

 

[Detrius]

I would expect not. CCFL backlights are powered by an inverter, which takes the DC provided by the laptop and converts it to AC. LED backlights are powered by straight DC.

I won't say it's not possible, as it is, but it would be a huge undertaking, considering the frame of the machine is designed for different wiring. There were silver-key LED-backlit MBPs, but I don't know off the top of my head how they were wired. I do know that on the newer models, the power for the backlight goes straight through the LVDS cable, so it's entirely possible that the video cables themselves just won't be compatible.

Bottom line: don't count on it being remotely feasible.

 

[cashel]

Thanks for the reply, I had a feeling it'd be something like that. Luckily this thing sits in a cradle plugged into a 24" LCD more often than not, so it's not a huge deal, but still would have been nice given the alternative of having to shell out another 2k+ for another one down the road for when I actually do use it as a laptop.