Is the plastic sheath on a GTX 970 necessary?

[Old Soul]

I recently got a MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4 GB only to find that the internals of my case are wrongly positioned only just enough that the card won't fit lengthwise in either of the pcie slots. The problem seems to be the plastic plate is sticking out too far, if it wasn't there it looks like the card would be a snug fit. I've read elsewhere that removing that plastic plate (and leaving the fans) is fairly easy to do, so I'm wondering if the plastic plate is functional or just decorative. Would removing it be a terrible idea or should I perhaps instead get a new case?

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming/

 

[clutchc]

If you can remove the shroud safely, there should be no problem with the gfx card. The shroud doesn't do much in the way of directing air anywhere.

 

[Tradesman1]

Are you talking the shroud over the fans? If so in part it helps with the cooling and protects the fans a bit from stray cables, if easily removable can try it and always replace it 😉