I'm torn between cooling solutions

[Biscoot]

So, I'm thinking of water cooling my PC but at the same time I don't want the pipes to burst and destroy it. Is there anyway i could prevent this or should I stick with air cooling?

[iBabySlapper]

Using good quality components and doing things properly are the only ways you can make sure anything will be less likely to fail.

[Ultra_Man52]

Well are you talking about a custom loop or an AIO. If you are talking about an AIO they almost NEVER break, and when they do it's not the "pipes" bursting. If you do mean a custom loop, that is kinda scary, so just stick with an AIO

[steffeeh]

The only reason I personally would switch to watercooling is because my PC usage has evolved to the point where even the best aircooler is not good enough anymore, and I'm therefore forced to do watercooling to improve the cooling further. Note that I'm pretty much referring to custom loops by this.

 

But of course this analogy assumes I already have the best aircooler out there, and not a cheaper one where both a better aircooler or a good AIO watercooler would be an improvement.

In any way, a general rule of thumb is that aircooling provide good cooling with low noise, while an AIO watercooler provides slightly better cooling but also slightly more noise.

 

As for reliability, you rarely hear AIO watercoolers burst and leak (except in extreme cases, which exist in every segment of every market out there), but more about pumps dying and the system forcing a shutdown as the heat builds up.

For custom loops you rarely hear anything about bursts as well as those who build custom loops put so much effort into it so the end result gets pretty reliable (except in once again, extreme cases, this time often being caused by the human factor).

[DocSwag]

Most AIOs shouldn't have much of a risk of doing this. However, if you don't care much about asthetics I always recommend the Noctua D15 instead. It performs as good as the best AIOs while being considerably quieter; the only downside is it's a bit ugly.

[en1gMATIC]

There is a very very v e e e ry small chance of it leaking, unless you screw something up big time. Also it looks incredible

[en1gMATIC]

Just now, en1gMATIC said:

There is a very very v e e e ry small chance of it leaking, unless you screw something up big time. Also it looks incredible

Oh yeah I forgot I mean custom loop >_<

[Mick Naughty]

If you're scared, stick to air cooling. 

[PrimeSonic]

An AiO is a fine start. There's really nothing to worry about.

It'll give you a taste of what water-cooling can do, provided you got for a 240-280 radiator.

 

Otherwise, getting a high end air-cooler, assuming you have the space for it, will also be a good.