Switch mode or linear?

[Reflective]

Hi, can anyone help a newbie?
I want to build a bike light, three or five Watt LED, and have been looking at driver boards from Deal Extreme etc. Most of them seem to be linear regulators; I was thinking a switch mode would be better. I can make my own circuit boards if needed.

Which is the best way to go? And also, Luxeon or Cree? (Never heard of Cree until now.) All comments welcome.

 

[MikeLip]

Hi, can anyone help a newbie?
I want to build a bike light, three or five Watt LED, and have been looking at driver boards from Deal Extreme etc. Most of them seem to be linear regulators; I was thinking a switch mode would be better. I can make my own circuit boards if needed.

Which is the best way to go? And also, Luxeon or Cree? (Never heard of Cree until now.) All comments welcome.

Switch mode is usually more efficient. Linear is simpler. Go Cree. Also more efficient and usually a better color.

 

[mpf]

I use linear regulators, I find they have the following advantages, wide range of control, 100% to 1.6% output current, high efficiency (if you match you batteries to the Leds) I get over 95% at 4.8A and over 90% at 1.25A using 6x AA and 5 x 2 Crees in series.

And simplier circuit design and PCB layout
matthew