How long should LED strips last?

[Confused Stu]

I moved from CCFL lighting in my PC to LED strips at the back end of January and was very, very happy (goodbye inverter, inflexible mounting and eventually dim tubes). I used 2 x Bitfenix Alchemy White LEDs http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-061-BX and hooked them up together.

I've noticed recently that the lighting doesn't seem to be as bright as it was when I installed them, but just wrote it off as getting used to it. However today I popped the side off my case and noticed that only some of the LEDs are bright, with the rest being very dimly lit, so I did a count up:
Strip 1 - 9 bright LEDs, 21 dim LEDs
Strip 2 - 8 bright LEDs, 22 dim LEDs

My question is - is it unrealistic to expect more than a third of the lights to still work after 6 months? The kit doesn't come with an on/off switch and just hook up to a molex power connector, so the LEDs are on all the time the PC is on, about 4-5 hours per day usually. Did I get a dodgy batch, or do I need to buy a new set and work out a way to hook a switch up to them to avoid having to spend £50 every 6 months on LEDs?

 

[OracIe]

It does vary but normally LED's should last around 10,000+ hours, so if they have failed after 6 months, they are ****e!

 

[Unicorn]

I moved from CCFL lighting in my PC to LED strips at the back end of January and was very, very happy (goodbye inverter, inflexible mounting and eventually dim tubes). I used 2 x Bitfenix Alchemy White LEDs http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-061-BX and hooked them up together.

I've noticed recently that the lighting doesn't seem to be as bright as it was when I installed them, but just wrote it off as getting used to it. However today I popped the side off my case and noticed that only some of the LEDs are bright, with the rest being very dimly lit, so I did a count up:
Strip 1 - 9 bright LEDs, 21 dim LEDs
Strip 2 - 8 bright LEDs, 22 dim LEDs

My question is - is it unrealistic to expect more than a third of the lights to still work after 6 months? The kit doesn't come with an on/off switch and just hook up to a molex power connector, so the LEDs are on all the time the PC is on, about 4-5 hours per day usually. Did I get a dodgy batch, or do I need to buy a new set and work out a way to hook a switch up to them to avoid having to spend £50 every 6 months on LEDs?

Keep away from them is the best bet. Buy 30cm SMD Led strips off the bay learn to solder and attach them to a molex plug.. 3 quid at most and wala

Is what i have in my system. But mine are hooked to a fan controller and i dim them with it

 

[Resident]

Keep away from them is the best bet. Buy 30cm SMD Led strips off the bay learn to solder and attach them to a molex plug.. 3 quid at most and wala

Is what i have in my system. But mine are hooked to a fan controller and i dim them with it

Ha. That's what I've done with mine. Bought cheap ebay strips and fitted them with 3pin plugs so they're controlled by the built-in fan controller of my Phantom 410.

I've also fitted mine with 'quick release' connectors as I've got strips in the roof and front removable panels so I don't have to faf removing the side panels to get to the controller connectors.

 

[Ace Modder]

my bitfenix lights are still going strong and they have been installed in my PC since Feb 2012. I have the white ones too.

I would RMA them to OcUK.

 

[Confused Stu]

Thanks for the assurance guys - I've started a thread in OcUK support forum to see if an RMA is possible (the lights technically still work, just on an ever diminishing basis!).

I appreciate all the advice on making your own LED kits, and they definitely would be cheaper, but I've tried soldering before and, well, let's just say both me and the items being soldered agreed it's really not for me.

Ideally I think I'll see if I can RMA these strips for working ones, and this time add a switch in place of one of the water-cooling gromits in the case, so I can switch them on when I want to show the PC off, and keep them off the rest of the time so they don't wear out this time.

 

[Tealc]

Sounds like they've been over driven and have released some of their magic smoke. Dimly lit LEDs are followed by flickering LEDs and then not working LEDs, at least as I've observed.