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Anyone try to upgrade to an LED backlight on a M170/i9300 yet?

post #1 of 6
2/23/09 at 9:12pm
Thread Starter 
Alright all you techies out there, I've got a good one for you. Is it possible to upgrade the backlight on my i9300 to an LED? I'm curious if this is possible. I have 2 Maglite flashlights that I've owned for years that I upgraded from the standard krypton bulbs to LEDs, they now shine much brighter and have much longer battery life than before.

I wonder if it's possible to do the same with my laptop? If possible this seems like a "no brainer" type upgrade for as we all know illuminating our screens has a direct impact with battery life. It would seem to me an LED backlight would be brighter and use considerably less energy.

Anyone out there try this yet or have any ideas as to it's feasibility please respond. Thanks in advance.

Ciao
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post #2 of 6
2/24/09 at 2:49pm
Unfortunately the issue is a bit more complicated than changing the bulb in a maglite. The problem is your system expects a traditional backlight inverter. Also, your system has power geared towards CCFL backlights only so your cable may not have the proper power connections for the LED backlight in the first place.

There's really not going to be a feasible way to put an LED backlit display in your laptop. If you want LED backlight that badly, I'd say sell your laptop for as much as you can get from it and buy a newer system.
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post #3 of 6
2/24/09 at 3:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrEvil View Post
There's really not going to be a feasible way to put an LED backlit display in your laptop. If you want LED backlight that badly, I'd say sell your laptop for as much as you can get from it and buy a newer system.
Considering how much a 17" WUXGA LED would cost him he might just be able to eek out enough to pay for the display by selling his 9300. Now that would be devotion: selling a functioning computer just to get a screen. Don't know how much fun you'd have with an inactive screen though hehe.
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post #4 of 6
2/25/09 at 9:34pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the help gents. I have a few more questions though.

Let me get this straight, the inverter drives the backlight? I thought the inverter drives the LCD. I was under the impression that the backlight is independent of the LCD and outputs a constant amount of light that is reflected throughout the backplate of the display so as to shine through the LCD, thus illuminating the screen. The output volume of the backlight is controlled much like a variable dimmer on a conventional bulb in that the amount of current is regulated to the bulb, thus the smaller the amount of current, the lower the light output and the dimmer the image appears on the screen. Am I mistaken here?

The next question is, if several current models are offered with both traditional CCFL and LED backlight options, does it not in turn follow that the architecture between the two can't be so radically different as to make them incompatible or else they wouldn't be interchangeable within said model-lines? Am I wrong in this observation?

Thanks in advance

Ciao
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post #5 of 6
2/25/09 at 10:52pm
The inverter drives the back light and is connected as part of the Video cable assembly from the GPU. They are specific to the display / GPU combination.

So an inverter from one laptop will not always work on another - this is most likely a result of the GPU BIOS not reconizing it.

The inverter does drive the back light, but I am not sure of how indepandant it is, there is a inter connection between the GPU / Inverter / display.
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post #6 of 6
2/28/09 at 4:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiburon666 View Post
Thanks for the help gents. I have a few more questions though.

Let me get this straight, the inverter drives the backlight? I thought the inverter drives the LCD. I was under the impression that the backlight is independent of the LCD and outputs a constant amount of light that is reflected throughout the backplate of the display so as to shine through the LCD, thus illuminating the screen. The output volume of the backlight is controlled much like a variable dimmer on a conventional bulb in that the amount of current is regulated to the bulb, thus the smaller the amount of current, the lower the light output and the dimmer the image appears on the screen. Am I mistaken here?

The next question is, if several current models are offered with both traditional CCFL and LED backlight options, does it not in turn follow that the architecture between the two can't be so radically different as to make them incompatible or else they wouldn't be interchangeable within said model-lines? Am I wrong in this observation?

Thanks in advance

Ciao
Mind you the systems that have the LED backlight as an option have LCD controllers that are designed to work with either. Your system's LCD controller is not, you could probably make it work, but it's doubtful you'd have brightness control if any backlight at all. The LCD controller has some rudimentary communication with the inverter and that communication is a part of the Dell built-in diagnostics on the motherboard.

Also, the inverter is what does the dimming, because the CCFL in the display runs off Alternating current and not Direct Current like the rest of the system or LEDs run off of.
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