05-02-2011, 07:21 AM

Hi Everyone..... I have the 27" iMac, HD display etc etc..... it is about a year and a half old, and I have not had a single issue with it yet.

I work a full time job during the day and also run my own business at night after hours. I work 30 miles away from my home office where I run my business out of, and there are times I need to get files from my iMac. I use log me in a lot and usually just email them to myself. Or if I know I need one the night before, I'll upload it to my iDisk and then just download it at my day job.

Normally I put my computer to sleep during the day when im not at home so the monitor doesn't stay lit for 8-10 hours. But when you put the computer to sleep, you can not wake it up via Log me in so if i ever need a file I cant get to it. I know I can just leave it on with a screen saver, but not sure if that is good for the life expectancy of iMac screens?

how long do these usually last?

05-02-2011, 07:37 AM

All I can say is my iMac G5 20" LCD is around 6 years old. It looks as good as new. I used that machine 24 hours a day for over 5 years. Had the screen sleep, not the machine, after 20 minutes but it was constantly in use.

05-02-2011, 07:40 AM

As dtravis mentions, head into the Energy Saver preferences and set it up for the display to sleep but not the computer.

05-02-2011, 07:57 AM

Here's a pretty typical answer you'll find on the internet:

"Typically a LCD screen will be rated to about 60,000 hours.

LCD backlight lamp will decrease brightness. That's the most evident sign of wearing.
The more contrast and brightness you use, the faster it will decay.

Obviously, the electronics can also fail - and in any other electronic device - power supply for example.

Sharp screens allow you to replace the lamp. Other brands less so. Apparently some samsung monitors also allow replacing the backlight lamp.

Theoretically, anyone could replace the lamp - but it's probably a rare part, hard to find, hard to buy, and very fragile and would require a certain amount of experience."


Believe me...for most folks...you will replace the computer (computer too old or slow) before you're LCD monitor will "die."

- Nick

p.s. FYI...60,000 hours works out to be around 20.5 years @ 8 hours/day.

05-03-2011, 12:49 AM

I had a 24in Alum iMac for the past 3.5 years. Other than a little yellowing along the edges, and some burn in from iTunes, it's perfectly fine. At work, we have 6 17in Intel iMacs that run 24/7 with the displays sleeping from 9PM to 6AM, the only issues with those is a line of burn in right underneath the menubar, and you can only tell when you restart the computer you can see the line.