Best budget CPU air cooler?

Mahir_1

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I'm planning to get a new PC which'll feature a locked Core-i7-7700. I've decided to go with liquid cooling because I think it looks really cool.
The only coolers I can get are Antec H600, Cooler Master Seidon 120V Plus and Corsair H45. Which of these are the best in terms of quality?
I want to make sure this thing doesn't leak because if it does, my video card is pretty much done. As a student, a decent video card is pretty expensive for me and it better not die for some fancy cooler that I bought which wasn't even necessary.

EDIT : Well, gotta get a fancy air cooler that's within the price of these water coolers then. About 50USD. Suggestions?
 
Just want to say that if it's the cheapest, then you can't really be upset if it does leak or break. But most modern coolers these days tend to last. I just grabed the NZXT x62 myself. What is your budget? And honestly, a bad ass air cooler may be better since you are only going to use one fan.
 
Much safer and prettier looking than water cooling is multicolored LED lights.

Liquid cooling is only used for overclocking.

Without overclocking there is no benefit to adding it, only risk due to something happening to it; leaking / installing incorrectly.
 

Mahir_1

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So, they'll only likely leak at my fault, right? And I'll be taking RGB LED strips anyway. What cooler should I buy?

 
Best budget cooler is the Cryorig H7, as good or better than any liquid AIO up to ~$80. *If you want a liquid cooler that looks really cool, save your money for a NZXT Kraken X52/X62 (or X42 if you must). But just get the H7 if you don't have the money.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $34.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-11 18:34 EDT-0400
 
There isn't much available for water cooling at the $50 range. The few that are you probably don't want, the next ones are in the $60-70 range and even then they won't cool any better than a decent air cooler. Especially for a locked cpu (non k, not intended/suited for overclocking). It's your money and your choice of what you think looks 'cool' but there will always be a risk of leak even if it's a slim one.

If the pump dies you're looking at a warranty or entire cooler replacement where if it's an air cooler the only thing that will happen is a fan might stop. That only requires a new fan (same could happen with an aio cooler since they also use fans).

The h7 would be a better option for a budget cooler that's plenty to handle a locked i7 (provided you don't have extremely high ambient room temps of 30-35c+ ). As MrN1ce9uy pointed out, the cryorig h7 cools slightly better, slightly quieter, is a little smaller than the 212 evo and most importantly it has 0 ram conflict issues. The 212 evo is fine but it's usually around the same price and can crowd ram in the first slot closest to the cpu. It's an old design and the h7 improved on it.

Nothing to say you can't use an aio cooler but keep in mind the price. For around the same price as a decent standalone pump for a custom cooling loop they're selling you a pump, tubing, radiator and a fan - and they're still making a profit. Needless to say they probably had to go cheap somewhere in order to leave a profit margin for both the manufacturer and the retail shop. Decent quality and performance aio's generally price around the $100-130 range and custom loops can run from $200-300+.
 

Mahir_1

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I think I should have mentioned my ambient temps. They indeed are over 30 degrees C. I find those cheap water coolers pretty. Not sure how good their quality is though. And if they're too easy to leak

 

Mahir_1

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Well, I find those cheap liquid coolers prettier than any air cooler lol