Hard Drive And SSD Installation
Two 3.5” or 2.5” drives can be connected to the HAF XB’s hot-swap connectors, which Cooler Master calls X-dock. Moving a lever on the bay’s front cover exposes a removable plastic drive caddy.
To allow for tool-less operation, the sides of the caddy can be pushed apart. Once a 3.5” drive is in place, the sides can be pushed together again. Small metal pins attached to the decoupling rubber on the sides slide into the disk's screw holes. This solution works surprisingly well; it turns out to be quick and secure. And if you just don't trust a tool-free solution like this, feel free to use one screw per side. It's just not necessary.
If you're installing a 2.5” drive or SSD, a metal pin from one side of the caddy needs to be removed. It can be showed away by pushing it into place on the other side of the caddy, which isn’t used with a 2.5” drive sitting in the bay (that way you won't lose the tiny part). The 2.5” drive is secured into place by screwing it to the caddy from the bottom.
The hot-swap board is internally connected to the motherboard and PSU via SATA and power cables, respectively.
In addition to the hot-swap bays, Cooler Master's HAF XB has a 2.5” drive cage positioned in front of the space for the two 80 mm fans around back. These also support tool-less installation, via a different mechanism. Two included side rails are fastened onto each side of the drive by pushing their plastic pins into the hard drive’s or SSD’s screw holes. Cooler Master leaves enough space to facilitate non-angled data and power cables.