Sam writes, "I want to liquid-cool my computer, but I don't want to spend the hundreds of dollars it would take to have a fully liquid-cooled computer system from DangerDen. Are there any cheap liquid-cooling systems on the market that I could buy?"

If you're not big on customizing every component of your liquid cooling system, then a pre-built system is the best option for you. While I can recommend the ThermalTake Big Water 760i Liquid Cooling System Kit, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of:

These systems are built around specific CPU designs. Specifically, the ThermalTake system I mentioned supports AMD's AM2/AM2+ CPU socket, and Intel's LGA 775 CPU socket. Other, less common, types are supported, but the kit won't fit on an AM3 or Core i5/i7 socket.

Designed for minimal thermal movement. A lot of these liquid cooling kits are designed with a low price point in mind, and therefore can only move a minimum of heat away from a processor. While this is fine for the processors they're designed to work on, using a processor that outputs more heat, or adding a a video card to the cooling mix will shoot the temperature of the water up, and might cause the system to stop working properly.

You still need to do your own testing. These are water cooling systems, and no matter which all-in-one kit you buy, you're still going to need to dry test, wet test, and purge the system of air - just like a custom built system. If you skip any step of the process you could end up with a liquid cooling system that has air pockets stuck in it, or major leaks that could damage your computer.

So, while I recommend heading over to DangerDen and piecing together your own liquid cooling system, the ThermalTake Big Water i760 Liquid Cooling System Kit is a good choice.

If you have a question, send it to lordkat@gmail.com

Be safe,
Jason