Proper resistor verification needed/over driving led question

[tankhog]

I think I've gone and confused myself trying to figure this out and could use some help clarifying what the best resistor to use is...

I'm using a red/orange lux III wired with a 2010 hasbro cheap obi wan board powered by 4x AAA NiMH 850mAh max charge energizer rechargeable batteries.
Here's my math:
V(s)-V(f)=v
4.8-2.95(from red lux 3)=1.85v

This is where I get lost.
Do I use the max mAh of 850 from the batteries or the 1400 max mA?

Using 850ma I calculate 2.17ohm(1.85/0.85a) and 1.5w (1.85 x.85a)

Using 1400 ma it's 1.32ohm and 2.59 w

Alternativly someone suggested using a 1ohm 2w resistor, which is smaller than both of the ones I calculated. I've seen that it's possible to over drive the LED but what is really a "safe limit" for that?

Which one do I use? 2.2ohm 5 w or the 1ohm 2 w??

[Skottsaber]

Most AAA cells usually only ever put out a max of 1A.

[Azmaria Dei]

like i told you in the chat box earlier - mAh is NOT a measurement of power out. it's a measurement of CAPACITY. how long will it last and all that. ignore all that and calculate the resistor based on what you want the LED to get from your battery pack. if power consumed falls under the 3-4A cap for using a 4xAAA NiMH pack, you're fine. the pack puts out 4.8V and the LED wants 2.95V @ 1400mA (well below 3-4A) so with that calculation, you need a 1.2 ohm 3 watt resistor. the calculator for that is also linked below if you want to do it the simple way. HOWEVER remember that the 850mAh CAPACITY of the batteries does NOT calculate into that - that calculates into how long the batteries will last vs power consumption over time. and the reason i told you 1 ohm 2 watt previously was because i thought the R/O LUX3 used 3.2V so i calculated based on that. sorry about that.

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/wi...er/wiring.aspx

[cardcollector]

http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz
based off of this..
SV= 4.8v
fv wanted by LED= 2.9
milliamps (ma) wanted by LED= 1400ma.

You will want a...