Question Best water cooling under 300 for beginners?

[Proprietary Software]

I am planning to do my first water-cooling CPU build. Can someone recommend a kit under 300$ that does not leak? What advice would you give for first-time water cooling?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Are you looking for an all in one or a kit to build a custom loop?

 

[Proprietary Software]

I want to go with a custom loop... but I am afraid of leaking... There won't be a graphics card in this build, so will a custom loop still be worth it?

 

[Ilijas Ramic]

Hm what cpu are you using ? Custom loop are only worth if you are going high overclock and want to keep that temp down. If you are going full cloop with cpu+gpu then go for it, If you want only cpu. You can get cheaper parts on aliexpress or get the 240 aio cooler

 

[mtracy1991]

Do you need the water cooling? It may be the difference between a few degrees if you have really good fans. There is always the chance of leakage from the liquid cooling, but to each of his or her own. I want you to know that if there is a leak, companies from what I know will not reimburse you for the damaged parts, just the liquid cooler. So please keep this in mind.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you are not looking for a very high end overclock of the CPU, or are not using both the CPU and graphics card in the loop, then a custom loop is probably a waste of time and money UNLESS you are doing it simply for the aesthetic and then that's a value that only you can place on it. Honestly, my opinion is that if you need to come and ask whether or not a custom loop is appropriate, it's probably not. There are very good AIO liquid coolers out there, and there are air coolers that work every bit as good as the majority of AIO coolers.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Custom loop is a hobby. And an expensive one at that.

That being said, what cpu/mobo/case do you have?

300 usd is good for a cpu loop. If your case can accommodate, you can expand your loop later. Or you can migrate the loop to a more accommodating new case...

 

[rubix_1011]

I would recommend kits/combos from the following:

EKWB
Swiftech
Alphacool
XSPC (depending on selection, some older X20 pumps were not very good, but they also do have D5/DDC pump kits)

EK's aluminum kits have versions that also include GPU blocks, but these can only live in an all-aluminium ecosystem, so you would have to always, always, ALWAYS use only aluminum components. Otherwise, brass, copper, nickel, gold and silver can be used together just fine.

We need to know more info - what are you wanting to accomplish? There are so many options to build watercooling loops, that before you get to recommendations, we need to know your plans, budget ($300?), components cooled, case, etc.