The Freezone Elite will definitely beat anything you can likely build to fit in anywhere near the same space by a mile - let alone any pre-built kits. But its price class puts it in a whole different realm, which is why I built such a big system to compare it to. An enthusiast is going to look at what he or she can build for a similar cost, not just what fits in the same space.
The watercooling system I compared to costs around £200 in the UK (and $320 in the US) – that's about £50 less, and it's quieter and cooler. However, every time I need to make a change, I invest twenty minutes in undoing everything, draining the loop, etc. And that's in a case that's designed for it.
