Watercooling question

If I were to switch to watercooling, would I get a much cooler CPU, or is the difference minimal between water and an HSF? How much do decent watercoolers cost? What are the odds that the thing will bust open and dump water all over my computer? The last question is important, as my dad won't agree if there's a decent chance of ruining the whole computer.

I just (2 days ago) built a new 1.2Ghz Athlon system and have gotten most of my parts for a water cooling setup. Right now I'm just using a cheap Cybercooler P5600 air cooler without overclocking it. My temps got up to 50C the other day. So, I'm waiting on my water jacket (everything else is already here) to come in, before I test run it for a couple of days. I'm not going to put anything near the computer during the test. I am going to install a drip/spray shield in my computer when I actually put my reservoir, pump, and radiator inside my case. I'll probably just use some gallon sized ziploc bags and some good tape for that.

anyway....
Here's how much my components ran me:
1) DangerDen Maze2 copper waterblock (with fasteners)...$42... www.dangerden.com
2) AquaStealth Cooling Cube copper radiator...$54... they had a cheaper dual fan radiator for $30, but i went with this one anyway, because after buying two fans the price would be close to the same... www.aquastealth.com
3) a micro jet 117gph submersible aquarium pump (recommended by an aquarium guru at work)...$25
4) 120mm Panaflo fan (ordered from AquaStealth)...$14
5) tube of Arctic Silver II thermal compound...$8
6) anti-corrosion water additive...$4
7) tubing from Home Depot...$3
....... total was around $170 after shipping ......

I bought all of this stuff in preparation for some good overclocking. If you aren't gonna overclock and don't want to play with water cooling just for the fun of it, I would spend my money on something else.

good luck..............

If you do it right, it will get you around my temps depending on your room temp. Look at my sig, that's with no pelt installed and my ambient temp <room temp> is 22C.

That's right. If you do it right even (I believe) with just a decent waterblock and rad. You should hover just over ambient temps. All depends on your ambient temp though.

Also as far as having water leak all over your pc. It's almost unheard of! That is one of the benefits of running a closed loop system. Like like I was running. No reservoir. Which means everything's sealed air tight. There's almost no pressure in the system so leaks are most likely never going to occur. Just make sure you test the system for a day or so before you install it. If you get no leaks chances are you never will.

I used to be worried too. But now that I have a taste of it It's the least of my concerns. Just remember that theres a difference between a closed loop system and a open watercooling system. the open may drop your temps a few degrees. But you run a better chance of your reservoir leaking or things growing in the water. With a closed loop system that is air tight you don't have to worry about a reservoir leaking or as much about things growing in your water. Also closed loop systems are considered low maintenance.