Hey there. I'm doing this whole lightsaber thing for the first time, and I have some simple questions regarding LED wiring. For reference, here's the LED I purchased: https://www.ledsupply.com/leds/cree-xml-rgbw-star-led

Additionally, I have a 7.4V power supply.

1) This page shows a maximum drive current of 1000mA; is that per die, or for the entire unit?

2) A question at the bottom of the page asks about using resistors to limit current, and the answer given strongly suggests using an minibuck instead - one for each color. That seems like overkill, and I'd swear I've mostly seen resistors used in this application.

3) Assuming I go with resistors, what wattage is recommended? I can figure this out myself once the other questions are answered, but I'd like the community's recommendation.

4) I've also seen some conflicting info around the internet regarding resistor sizing. From what I understand, I take my supply voltage and subtract my forward voltage, and use that value in V=IR. So the red 2.25Vf would yield the following:
7.4V - 2.25V = 5.15V
5.15V/1A = 5.15 Ohms (assuming each die is pulling 1000mA, per question 1).


Thanks for the help. I'll likely be around here a bit as I get my feet under me during my first build.