Need recommendations - want smaller case, going back to air cooling

[Gregry254]

Current setup is an old HAF932 case with the following components:
5820k @ 4.2ghz
CM Nepton 240m AIO
KFA2 1070 EXOC

What I am looking at is either the dark rock 4 or the dark rock pro 4 for the CPU cooler. I really don't like the noise of the AIO and want to go back to a quieter build. Since I am replacing the cooler it seems a good time to get a case with better airflow, plus I have wanted to go with a smaller case for a while.

My shortlist so far is:
Meshify C
500DX
Fara R1

Is there anything else around/under the £100 price point that people would recommend in 2020?

 

[Gregry254]

Having read through countless reviews for cases around the £100 mark, I’d also recommend the 500dx. For me it has the perfect balance between performance and silence and has little things that I love, like screws that stay on the panels when you remove them, easily removable dust filters, good cable management, and feels like a well engineered case overall.

I got one a few days ago.

I just built one and can also highly recommend it. The only real downside I can think of is that the front panel needs too much force to pull off, but in the end it's just the way it's (unfortunately) designed and it should be durable. Otherwise, great case so far though pay attention to using quiet fans to avoid noise coming out of the mesh.

How do you find the standard fans with the case? Can you hear them at idle? the silent wings 3 fans seem to push more air and are somehow quieter, but throwing another £60 at fans on a £100 case seems stupid.

 

[Gregry254]

I have an Arctic Freezer 240 AIO and barely hear it - then again, its in a Gamemax F15M case which huge 200mm fans which, if I am honest, are practically silent too

I did consider the F15M but (perhaps wrongly) assumed the massive fans would be quite loud. Is it possible to turn off the LEDs using the inbuilt controller? My mobo doesn't have a connector for argb.