Much thanks for the thorough reply bro
I actually spent some 2+ hours further digging on more info/reading with some of the info you have posted

Btw what example of AIOs that have expansion options? and how are watercooling kits differ from something that we custom from hand picked parts?

I we were exchanging posts some 7 years ago when i was active in the pc diy/modding/oc'ing, i would agree with you in a heartbeat. Fast forward today, there are things like the Noctua D14/D15 with their insanely efficient and silent fans that puts almost every watercooling AIO solutions to shame, with pricing *probably* being the only factor that is still being contested against.

Though i have to wonder, wouldn't the water cooling have radiator fans as well, wouldn't those be noisy?
that seems to be the downfall for AIOs as their radiator fans are way too noisy when compared against the likes of Noctua.
Perhaps the liquid runs on passive cooling on the radiators until temperature requires the fans to spin?
How are all the fans/pumps etc being controlled? PWM via mobo?

So with the above laid out, i guess the only way for water cooling solutions to compete would be to go all out full fledged solutions (be it hand picked or ready made kits/sets)?

If i choose to go all out on water cooling:
- since it's implied i will be spending beyond 1k, what are the common budget/pricing if one would choose full water cooling solutions? 1.5k? 3k?

- going all out, what are the brands/models that i should pay attention to?

- are all the components able to fit into the casing? tentatively eyeing the Coolermaster Cosmos II

- How do i go about on cooling the gpu as well? need separate pumps/radiators? if it's a single loop, wouldn't the excess heat from the cpu (or gpu, depending the flow order?) compromise cooling on the next component?

- do you have company profile/wiki on XSPC? they don't show a lot on their website it seems
EK on the other hand have everything, although neither companies i've heard of them much to be honest.
I'm fairly detached from the pc/oc world for many long years and needless to say watercooling as i've never ventured in WC at all even when i was active.

- swiftech is among the few companies that come to mind when it involves water cooling. However it doesn't seem like they are commonly mentioned a lot on the this forum? at least not within the first page of threads.
do they not perform well, or overpriced, or just not good on the price vs performance?

- What do you think about their MCR drive concept? which sorta makes it into a "glorified"/custom AIO water cooling solution?
http://www.swiftech.com/mcr-driveconceptintroduction.aspx
http://www.swiftech.com/MCR-X20-Drive-Rev3.aspx

- What's up with the h220x anyways? it seems like an AIO? there's also your previous post mentioning the MCP50X?

- for coolant/tubing maintenance, i guess i've gone through this thread: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2755861
so if say i go with acrylic, i will never encounter this issue?
which means my cpu water block will never be clogged or something and won't require maintenance (eg: flushing/cleaning) ?

- without plasticize issue, the only maintenance is basically topping up coolant time to time? is there like a warning sign/indicator or do i have to check time to time?
is this also the reason why a well placed/visible reservoir is preferred for easier maintenance?

- if my idea of acrylic is correct, they are not flexible at all and would require numerous joints and connectors with a lot of proper planning to have a successful pure acrylic tube build?

- for your waterblock, is it due to your delid proc? i'm not too sure if the newer i7 5xxx series would easily facilitate that as iinm their heat spreader is soldered on or something for better thermal conductivity?

- speaking of leak, what's the difference between AIO and custom?
is it the non electrical conductive coolants we can apply?

- what are brand/model examples of good non electrical conductive coolants that have biocide and other essential items that's required? (don't care about color lol)

well, the whole idea on the disclaimer is that you can never be too sure when treading unfamiliar neighborhood. And i can assure you I've been involved with a vast number of communities on/off LYN on various hobbies so yeah some can be very unfriendly to newbies
thankfully you're (and hopefully the rest) nice/helpful so that's great

I LOVE THIS PART MAN..   . so true.. thats the use of forum, to give personal opinion. its true that we have google, but some people prefer hearing/reading it from a personal point of view from other users. +1 for you bro.
hi bro, i try to answer based on my knowledge/experience.

i already spend around RM3k for the water cooling setup.(fittings are OEM, not branded ones.)

for the brands, i prefer hwlabs for the radiator but some prefer alphacool.

if it will fit, it still be based on the LC setup you prefer, better check the size/orientation you want to do. but for cosmos 2, i think you will have lots of room to work on.

for the gpu cooling, its your decision if you want to have dual loop or single loop. for me, i only have 1x 240 rad with ek dcp 4.0 and a res, cooling cpu (oc @ 4.5) and zotac gtx760, temp is no higher than 35deg, having a push pull setup.

i dont usually check the company profile.

no experience with swiftech yet but based on the review i read, it has good reputation.

for me, every loop needs maintenance once in a while. some says, mayhems can last upto 3years in your loop, but for me, i like to clean my pc for dust/flushing every 4-6months. just a hobby for me.

for now, best tube is primochill advance lrt(if not mistaken). for me, since i have a horizontal mount res, i prefer the res to be almost full. i think as long as the pump does not goes dry, still ok. but having a full res, looks much more better.

for acrylic tubes, they are not flexible, but you can bent them using hot air. many of guys here are expert on bending acrylic tubes. you can ask opinions from them

actually, AFAIK, all coolants are conductive, since it still has water on it. its just that, they say that after market coolant is way better in terms of performance. as for me, im currently using ek coolant. but waiting for prestine for my mayhem coolants and dyes. hahahhaa
we are glad to help and share opinions. hope i helped in a way.

If everyone on LYN can think like you do, regardless of heated discussions/strong or even biased opinions, i believe the LYN forums can be a much better place.
And thank you as well for the reply

hmm 3k for watercooling setup, that'll definitely eat into my budget a lot. I'm only planning between 5-10k for my new pc this coming December
hwlabs/alphacool are yet another brand that I'm not familiar with, thanks for mentioning, will look up on them for further informations.

Thanks for the assurance on the cosmos ii; I don't foresee much problem fitting everything/anything in it since it's so huge (and heavy ) however further confirmation/assurance is always good.

So single loops are fine for cpu/gpu i guess? normally it'll cool the cpu first since supposedly gpu have higher temperature tolerances?

Swiftech has been around for ages, even way back then when watercooling were still a very niche market. (it probably still is today with the exception of plug and play/AIOs)
I'm just not sure if it still is the better/good choice as so many other players emerged since then.
Personally i like to look into company profiles so i can get a better understanding on who/what i am getting into, and what i can expect of the products i am getting. Managing expectation is extremely important to me so that i do not have too much expectations just to be disappointed in the end, or on the other hand have too low expectations and it'll be like getting something seemingly subpar/mediocre.

in regards to loop maintenance, can't the acrylic tubing/better coolant last maybe 1-2 years like air cooling (heck my current setup i only bother opening up/dusting it in like... hmm when was the last time i did it, 3-4 years ago? lol
hmm if the mayhems can go for 3 years, that's good enough for me i think. as you mentioned, eventually need to clean dust and what not anyways, regardless how many dust filter you can implement (i may further reinforce the filtration on my future tentative CM Cosmos II lol)

hopefully the acrylic guys will come share their thoughts.
At the moment i am guessing Heat guns.

for those electrically non conductive coolants, here's what i got from google:
http://www.primochill.com/product/primochi...t-black-32oz-2/

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/272208-2...conductive-loop

i guess maintenance/keeping things clean would still be key into preventing/minimizing damage on leaks (if any)