To be honest, I haven’t really used mine since I got it in and was able to run a few tests; I ended up making a thread (RTL-SDR module/mounting - general thread) dedicated to my attempts. I solved the USB issue by tapping into the pads where the existing USB ports are; I soldered onto that, and crimped my wires onto Dupont pins so I can remove for testing/etc. It’s minimally invasive, and as long as I don’t try to use that port while the SDR is connected I haven’t noticed any issues.
I’d love to see how the HackRF works out, I’m sure it would be even better than my cheapo dongle