I have 12V DC coming in from a power brick and I need to supply 5V @ 1A for USB and 3.3V @ 5A max for mSata and PCIe. I basically need to make a small atx power supply that I can integrate on my custom board and I don't need every supply that comes with a full ATX, just 3.3V, 5V, and 12V. I would like to avoid using a linear regulator because of heat. I also need the chips to be large enough that I can prototype a circuit on a breadboard. I like the TO-220 package size that most of the linear regulators use. What regulator family should I be looking into? I have looked at a few different types but I was overwhelmed by all of the choices.
I designed a power supply using the TI power architect tool which used some very small chips and I had a board made based on that. When it came time to assemble (chip I do by hand), the chips are very tiny and it is impossible to debug. Needless to say, the board does not work. I have tried reworking it a few times, but no luck. The chips I used were:
http://www.ti.com/product/tps40305
http://www.ti.com/product/tps40304
I'd like to start all over and make a proper working prototype on the bench before making another board.