Since this seems to have turned into a general-purpose thread about the backlights in the 3007wfp-hc...
Mine has served me well for about three years now. I profile it using a Spyder3Pro, and in the process of profiling I have kept the brightness at 120cd/m^2. (Adjusted using the basic back-light control buttons adjacent to the power button.)
Beginning about 9 months ago, I noticed that whenever I re-profiled the screen, I was having to turn the brightness up a bit in order to keep hitting that 120cd/m^2 mark.
Over the past 3 months, I've watched the maximum brightness start to slip even more rapidly. Beginning last week at max brightness, the screen can't even muster 90cd/m^2.
Further, when looking at the screen without the color profile loaded into the video card LUT, the colors have shifted dramatically toward a dingy yellow.
The color and brightness are uniform across the entire display. It's just dull and aged looking now.
I initially assumed the CCFL bulbs were aging, but after reading through this thread am I to understand that it could actually be an inverter board?
I'd appreciate any input. Since my livelihood depends on my photography I'm tempted to run out and buy a Dell U3011, but if this screen has any life left in it I'd still love to use it as a secondary monitor.
Thanks guys. There are clearly some really knowledgeable people in this thread!