How I built my Haf XB Evo

A simple video on how I installed my computer into the Haf XB Evo Case.
UPDATE: • Update on my HAF XB EV...
You can see how I installed Built in case audio here: • How I installed stereo...

[@Blindtechnician]

I’m trying to decide if I should build my first computer in this case. Thank you so much for this video.

[@potardo9851]

Glad I could help It's a good case. Still using it in 2021.

[@maxwellxb71]

Three of my four computers use this case. I love them, they are easy to install the parts and work on, also it is great support for the latest GPU modules.

[@potardo9851]

Oh yeah, I haven't found a gpu that wouldn't fit. If there ever was a time you could always put a pci express extension on and mount the gpu to the top panel horizontally XD I just gave the case that was in this video a new paint job this last week.

[@LordHollow]

Doing some research on this case and this vid popped up in 2020. Excellent work, sir.

[@potardo9851]

Thanks man! It's still my favorite PC case to this day. I've used several different cases since then and none have had the cooling that case has. I always go back to it.

[@MatthewTheDoctor]

Thanks you so much for this video! I just purchased this case, and was looking for some good cable management methods for it. You have by far the best cable management I have seen out of the 10 or so haf XB reviews I've watched.

[@potardo9851]

You are welcome and thank you so very much! I'm glad I was able to help. I would say this is the best case for wire management and part of the reason I love it so much. It's very customizable also as you can see in my update video in the description. Enjoy your new case and if you need any ideas or advice message me and I'll be sure to help :D -Foxi D'elegance

[@poeskey]

i just purchased this case because i wanted a square computer case (they always look cool in gaming pc builds), along with an fx 8370 with a wraith cooler, and 8GB of ram (to upgrade my total ram to 16GB). Eventually I will buy an RX 480 and upgrade to a Ryzen CPU, hopefully this case will last me for a long time. I really appreciate the video. This gives me an even better look at the case and ideas for builds.

[@potardo9851]

Just be careful with the Ryzen CPUs. They just had some issues with them not working with many different motherboards. If I ever get one it will be much later after they are perfected and supported.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Thanks for this well done video.

[@cmdrefstathiusplacidus9003]

Nice little tool. Or you could just get the appropriate size socket and or nut driver for the same thing. I just got the same case. Very impressed with the sturdiness and over all qaulity so far.

[@viva7642]

Very Nice!!

[@a64738]

Warning !!! In spite of HAF XB case having some of the best airflow it has a major design flaw when it comes to the cooling of the hard-disks. It has very little to no airflow at the HDD bay areas and this case is know for killing hard-drives. When I took of the motherboard trey I immediately saw why. The hot-swap bay have only small air holes at the sides and not at the top plus that the hard-disks is on top of each other very close without any fans to blow air. The other hard-drive tray is a little better as it at least have mounts for two 80mm fans. Don`t even think about mounting hard-drives other than SSD in this without mounting cooling fans first, your drives WILL overheat and die slowly if you do*. Besides the major flaw with HDD cooling the HAF XB have potential to become one of the best cases there is with a little modification and this case is really easy to modify. I have removed the side panels and put 14cm fans at top there instead and 12cm fans downstairs to blow at the hard-drives (did also removed the hdd tray and mount the drives standing up at the bottom of case). I also have a 200mm fan at the top and that fan really helps get the heat from my Zotac GTX980ti AMP out of the case. Temperatures when running GTA V benhmark is 55C at the graphics card max overclocked and 38C at my i7 4790k CPU at stock speed with Schyte Ninja 3 cooler. Thees temperatures is really impressive specially for the graphics card, my GTX980ti gets a lot hotter when I run it in a open testbed. *This summer one of my passively cooled 750gb drives died at 32Celcius ambient and that one was mounted in an open case alone with no other drives near. My 3 other drives was also really hot about 50 -60 Cecius (burnt my fingers) on the outer case but they survived. I learned my lesson, conventional spinning type hard-drives need active cooling or they get really hot and die. At normal ambient room temperature of 24C my hard-drives did not get more than 42C, problems only arose when it got hot in the summer and for some reason the HDD`s got much hotter when it got a little warmer.

[@potardo9851]

+Rondo Cat If you put the 80mm fans in the back of the case it will pull air through the vent in the front of the trays and the drives you put by the fans as well. it helps if you have a dual fan psu as well i dont but with the adding of those 80mm fans it does help alot. if you put the 2 big fans in the front it creates a vacuum and pulls air through those shelves as well. I can feel it when i put my hand on them if I had some sort of airflow gauge id check it. If i get a sort of gauge i will definitely check and record. -Foxi D'elegance

[@potardo9851]

Only bad thing I've found about SSD's is that they are made just like thumb drives in function as they are solid state flash memory devices. The reason why I see this as bad is because all devices built like that (thumbdrives, sd cards, and others) slow down to a crawl and eventually fail due to sectors corrupting over time after only a few months or a couple years of constant data transfer. I'm keeping quality built devices in mind too not just cheap ones. I think SSD's would be a good idea if you can afford backing up/ replacing your drive every so often.*****

[@a64738]

Potardo I had a 128gb SSD drive on a Macbook Pro for 7 years and at the time the macs graphics card died the SSD was still 100% with no failed sectors and it had been used a lot in that time. If I remember correctly it was OCZ disk.

[@potardo9851]

That's pretty badass man! Was OCZ the brand?

[@mrmrsmeowmeow9045]

@@potardo9851 trimming built into Windows 10 has fixed that. Also I have 2 WD BLACK 8TB hd's in my Haf XBO Evo and another Seagate 4TB, as well as a 500GB SSD Intel drive and another 1TB SSD. The hard drives do not get hot at all, and naturally the SSD's stay cool just by design.

[@emjayel206]

Nice vid Potardo :). I just purchased this case and was wondering what else have you done to it? The lcd flip up display was a great idea along with the speakers. Its nice to see ingenuity with this case. Have a great 2016!

[@potardo9851]

+Matthew L Thanks man :D I'm glad you are enjoying it. As far as other modifications there's a list below: -Not sure if i noted it but i added a Kingwin FPX-004 media hub and fan controller early on -added a couple more full size sata harddrives in the back with an 80mm fan behind them -a H60 corsair closed loop water cooler in place of the coolermaster 212 heatsink i had -extra usb 2.0 hub from an older computer on the side panel -upgraded my gpu to a MSI R7 250 -Pretty soon i will do routine cleaning and add in a couple new sata cables to replace my older slower one on my 2 main drives (Coboc model SC-SATA3-18-LL-BL 18") I highly reccomend these cables. They made my hubby's computer faster and I bought 5 and none had defects :D If you have any ideas or questions send them my way and I'd be happy to make another video. -Foxi D'elegance

[@emjayel206]

+Potardo just to report. A corsair h110i gt 280 rad will fit the haf xb evo. I have it all set up but Windows 10 is being finnicky with my 2 amd radeon hd 6790's in crossfire. I might go back to Windows 7 and wait for the new radeon r480's to come out. I hope all is well and your haf xb evo is running well :)

[@potardo9851]

Good to hear its working out :D. Yeah I'd stick to windows 7. Windows 10 has compatibility issues and serious security and privacy flaws including a built in keylogger.

[@potardo9851]

Still running well. Just replaced my travel damaged wifi card and added stickers/emblems to it. Might be up for a cleaning soon and I need to replace my extra 80mm fan in the bottom behind the harddrive rack.

[@USAMP926C]

Cool video. Thanks.

[@Brisleep1]

Thanks for the video, well done! If you're still around, how long can the power supply be? I have an Enermax 1050, it's around 7.5" long, would it fit with part of it hanging out until I can afford a smaller one? I have been making minor upgrades to an i7-920 system that I built in '09.

[@potardo9851]

Looks like you could fit 8 inches in max length of the whole power supply. 1 inch sticks out the back in the mounting plate. You can have 7 inches max (allowing for the case hdd wiring) inside. Now if you left the mounting plate off the back you could have it as long as you want and just have it chilling out the back. As for the wiring measurements of the 460 watt coolermaster psus like the one I used in the video are as follows: Length of unit 5 3/4 inches The 2 SATA power harnesses are 19 1/2 inches The PATA (IDE) power harness is 32 inches The ATX 4pin connectors (there are 2) are both 20 1/2 inches The PCI E (gpu power connector) is 18 1/2 inches The Motherboard main power connector 24 pin harness is 17 1/2 inches Let me know if you need anymore help or measurements. I sat down with a measure tape and did these so it's not ripped off a page to be as accurate as possible. Thanks for reaching out. Let me know how it goes. Stay safe!

[@Brisleep1]

@@potardo9851 thanks so very much! I almost hit the buy button last night but I fell asleep puzzling over a B550 micro atx motherboard or an X570 atx, I can't believe the lack of well designed/up to date matx, so I'm going to have to buy an atx X570. I'll use my old Enermax 1050 and gtx 970 until I get enough money to update those, I'll just let the PSU sit out the back until then. And wow, I paid $300+ for my gtx 970, it's ridiculous how much they want for them now! Again, thanks for your help, having these measurements, they'll help so much and I'll definitely let you know when I get it all assembled! I've been checking out an EVGA 850, 80+ gold that should be strong enough and fit easily in my new case, I'll be so happy to get rid of my HAF 912, it's too big, bulky, and heavy for me.

[@potardo9851]

@@Brisleep1 I know what you mean the haf 912 was awesome. I used to have one but they are very heavy bulky tanks. Pricing on everything pc parts has been insane lately. A 125 dollar gpu used goes for 600 dollars now. Amd am3+ and am4 boards went from avg of 45 to 75 dollars and now are higher. Ancient WMR vr headsets are sometimes more expensive than the newer gen. Its crazy.

[@Brisleep1]

@@potardo9851 yeah I'm feeling two things, first is buy what I want because anything can happen in the future, including more price increases. The second is, keep everything I can, case, video card, PSU and just buy the essentials for now, motherboard, CPU and ram. Then, if I do the second thing, wait and see how prices change, maybe they'll drop around black Friday, or maybe cryptocurrency mining will take a hit and the price of components will drop. I know I'm definitely not paying $3,000- for the top Nvidia board, 3090 or whatever they put out next. I want to get back to playing games because it helps with being in pain but I'm not going to pay absurd prices.

[@potardo9851]

@@Brisleep1I've always done one piece at a time. I also usually refuse to spend over 120.00 on a gpu and I don't upgrade them often. Not afraid to overclock I just make sure the models I've gotten in the past could before I got them. The last one and current one I use I got in a trade by trading an old laptop and a few bucks for. It's a Sapphire Nitro+ branded Amd RX 590. Which now is like 800 dollars or something crazy. Before that trade I was running a MSI branded Nvidia that I had gotten refurbished for like 112.00 when it was common. I have spare R7 250 and RX 550 cards but noone wants to buy them for 20-30.00 seeing how they are older.

[@manicniceguy2341]

Someone recommed this case but I haven't pulled the trigger I have like 5 Hard Drives not sure if it would work out or be a cluster I like that it's flat unlike standing upright traditional ATX cases.

[@nathanhamman418]

manicniceguy this supports 2 3.5 drives and 2 in the hotswap bay, if you need your 5 and still want this you can either mod the case or add a 5.25 to 3.5 hard drive bay

[@Eiseberg]

Hey I know this is pretty old but if you don’t put anything inside hot swap bays do you still need to connect any wires to the little circuit board behind it?

[@potardo9851]

If you don't use the bays there's no need to connect to them.

[@yiyiantony]

Thank you very much for the video! I am going to buy this case but I do have some questions regarding to fans. It would be so nice if you could answer those. 1. I am going to use the 240mm liquid cooler for my cpu. Can I just put the fans right behind the front panel? I see two stock fans there. Is it necessary to remove the original fans to install radiators or can I just install the radiators behind the fans to make the "two layers fans"? 2. If I remove the fans in front panel, can I just install one of them on the back the 120mm fan port? Thank you!

[@potardo9851]

Antony Wang Sorry for taking so long to respond. I'm in the middle of a move and don't have internet yet. It's kinda hard to get what you are asking specifically but If I were doing what you are I'd remove all fans from front, take 2 fans and put them on the outside of the front behind the grill, and then install your radiator on the inside front followed by the other fans on the inside on radiator (if room). I think thats about what you'd want. Sorry for the delay and good luck! I just put a corsair H60 cooling unit in the back of mine as well. -Foxi D'elegance

[@yiyiantony]

Potardo Hi Thanks for the reply. I have bought the case and finished my installation. I removed two stock fans and put two fans coming with radiator in front panel. What I meant is if I need to remove two original fans to install new fans, or can I just install two layers of fans(four fans in the front), which I think it's actually not possible.. And the second question is because once I removed the stock fans, it's kind a waste if I don't use them, I was wondering if I can put one of them in the back on that 120mm fan port, and I actually did that. Thanks again for the video and reply.

[@potardo9851]

Antony Wang No problem. Glad your install worked out well :D -Foxi D'elegance

[@luisjoseacevedocardens8424]

+Antony Wang You mean push pull setup fans and it is totally possible, I'm using a Corsair H100i with the stock fans from the front panel and the two ones that came with the radiator. If you have enough space it should work a charm.

[@DontEatFibre]

Have you had any problems with dust build up? I'm not a fan of dust filterLESS designs that much.

[@potardo9851]

Damaruth there's a filter behind the grill on the faceplate I clean every 2 months to keep airflow steady. It got less dirty after I added my Corsair H60 watercooler on my cpu.

[@lunabit]

+Damaruth just add fan filter to your fan 120 or 140 mm Exemple: www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Filter-Magnet-Cooling-FF123B/dp/B00ARB5E8U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441084105&sr=8-3&keywords=120+fan+dust+filter

[@lunabit]

Hi +Potardo Im looking at this case and have a H60 to. Q: Did you fit the radiator at the front or the back of the case?

[@potardo9851]

+lunabit I mounted my radiator on the back fan slot. Works real well since the heat from it gets blown out the back. I put the fan in between the radiator and case,-Foxi D'elegamce

[@jonathangarzon2798]

Potardo are those 140mm fans up front?

[@Kautian]

Can a 280mm cpu water cooler work in this case? Where you fit the two fans?

[@potardo9851]

I wouldn't see why not. Looks to me like there's plenty of room to install both the radiator and fans on the inside of the case front.

[@potardo9851]

Went back and looked at Coolermaster's site and found that stock without modification the case will fit 240mm rads in the front and 120mm rads in the back. It looks like with some mounting modifications it may fit the 280. Page with pics: www.coolermaster.com/case/lan-box-haf-series/haf-xb-evo/

[@emjayel206]

hey Potardo I managed to fit a corsair 280mm corsair in front no problem. So it is possible :)

[@bmxer1997isaac]

could you show wiring for the front panel

[@potardo9851]

Absolutely. Which front panel the fan controller hub or the usbs and headphone jacks that are built into the front of the case along with power button?

[@bmxer1997isaac]

i actually got it working. thanks thou

[@potardo9851]

No problem. Let me know if you need anything else.

[@ShayanQuanta]

who will tell us the motherboard model number?

[@potardo9851]

+Jewel The motherboard model (still in service as my machine) is a MSI 970A-G43. The newer version of this board that you can get very cheaply on newegg refurbished right now is a MSI 970A-G46. Bolt just bought a G46 model last week as it was the closest available and it's just as good as my G43.

[@urdaddywingnut7820]

Finding a top fan to fit this case is starting to really piss me off!!! I've now spent more on fans than the frikkin case costed. What the hell was Cooler Master thinking when they came out with this jacked up bolt pattern on the top panel of this case??? Manual says 200mm fit, & that is a flat out LIE. 230's get really close, & this last fan; a 230mm Bitfenix spectre Pro ha come the closest. It has 12 mounting points on both sides, and I figured even if crooked, I could make it work... yeeaaahhhh,,, NOPE

[@potardo9851]

I actually didn't use the top part for my applications. I cut the whole raised part out with some electric metal shears and pop riveted a flat metal panel on. I like the top flat so I can use my flip up monitor or put my record player on top of it to make it look like a console. Doesn't really need a vent in the top after adding the fans in the back, front, and a water cooler. It expels so much heat out of the case that its cool inside but makes the rest of my room hot as shit XD

[@kennethflorek8532]

The Coolermaster Megaflow 200, the one Coolermaster puts in cases that come with a 200 mm fan, is the one I guessed would be right, and it does match. It does not have the mounting holes at the corners of a square which outlines the fan circle, like 120 mm and smaller fans do. But I had to put the fan on the outside, because the top of my cooler overlapped a quarter inch with the fan otherwise.

[@totalitariantv1725]

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008G3OLRQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@VividMac101]

Have you tried the new 200mm fan from Noctua?

[@themodfather9382]

You gotta be pretty stupid if you "spent more in fans"... just drill holes or better yet use zip ties

[@detroit117]

what 80 mm fans would you recommend for the bottom ? would you recommend anything else ? I am going with this so far : pcpartpicker.com/p/FDHXjX

[@potardo9851]

+Nathan Titus For fans I've always used what was around that was quiet. I can say that Rosewill, Antec, and Coolermaster are nice. The best 80mm fans ive used the brand had like a lynx head sticker on the fan. I cant remember what brand it was but they were amazing. You may find it worth it to change your motherboard and cpu you picked out. This case can support a full size atx motherboard which will allow you to upgrade for quite a while. I wouldnt just settle for a mini itx motherboard and a quad core cpu. For cheaper heres my recommends for a motherboard and cpu: Motherboard: MSI 970-A AM3+ www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130679&cm_re=msi_am3-_-13-130-679-_-Product CPU: 6 core 3.5Ghz AMD www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286&cm_re=6_core_visher-_-19-113-286-_-Product Here's the gpu im currently using if curious: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127763&cm_re=msi_r7_250-_-14-127-763-_-Product I'll let you know if I find out what brand 80mm fan had the lynx head on it. -Foxi Delegance

[@detroit117]

I think my motherboard is a full ATX. Its the ASRock z170q-x1/3.1 lga 1151 Intel z170 sata 6gb. I most have linked the wrong thing and the cpu is the i5 6600k