Things have changed a LOT in the WCing world now. The MCP655 is one of the top DC pumps, pretty much the standard pump every one uses (after the MCP355).Its been awhile since I last looked at water blocks, but the apogee wasn't considered one of the best. I know the original one was barely better then an air cooler it was so bad inside. I don't know about this XP one. Also not sure about a sub $100 pump. Last I looked was a long time ago so I'm not surprised if you can do this now for $300ish. ($350 if you want those four 120mm fans.)
Agreed. I don't recommend TEC here at Toms as most people here are noobs (no offense) and would probably end up setting their stuff on fire.I've seen people use TECs with a water cooling loop to cool it. And yes, it had its own separate PSU. I consider them like the Dodge Vipers of the cooling world. To much power for their own good. Very capable cars/coolers if they are in the hands of those who can push them, but most likely overkill for most of us.