5150/5151 Video Card??

[tony duell]

> > > > ...The common Zenith MDA monitor, ... The one that combines the efficiency
> > > >  of a linear with the reliability of a switcher.
> 
> > > Double take, resulting in coffee in nasal cavity ... ;-)

> > I am not joking.
> > -----------------
> 
> Well, linears are noted more for their weight and caloric output than efficiency
> while switchers seem to have sacrificed reliability for higher efficiency so I
> took it as a delightful bit of irony, like a car combining the safety of a Pinto 
> with the graceful lines of an Edsel...

> Oh well, I got a chuckle out of it...

Of course I was being ironic. The 'not joking' part refers to the fact that
it really is a switcher with a linear regulator. 

The reverse (mains transformer feeding low-voltage switching regulators)
was relatively common (think of the older PDP11 PSUs, for example). These
are big and heavy (massive iron-core transformer) and not as efficient as
a mains switch-mode PSU, but are more efficient than a linear regulator 
(obviously) and seem quite reliable. 

-tony