İs it okay to leave the protective peels/films on the middle of the GPU fans

[cheermate]

Forgot to take off those protective films on top of the manufacturer sticker while installing the gpu and now i can't uninstall it because i can't unlock the pcie latch.Would it be okay to just leave them?

 

[caroline!]

I don't see why not.

They might come off after a while with the heat tho.

 

[joemama]

Why would you need to remove it from the mobo to take off the protective film?
It wouldn't cause any harm leaving them there but could start to leave residue from the adhesives after maybe a year so I would peel them off as soon as I install the GPU.

 

[ir_cow]

It's fine. I've left them off for a good year before. Often lol.

 

[cheermate]

Why would you need to remove it from the mobo to take off the protective film?
It wouldn't cause any harm leaving them there but could start to leave residue from the adhesives after maybe a year so I would peel them off as soon as I install the GPU.

Can't exactly fit my hand in between the GPU and PSU .Even if i did I'd have to pull the film which could unbalance the fan.I get the case cleaned every year or so.I guess I'll leave it till next summer

It's fine. I've left them off for a good year before. Often lol.

I feel like a lot of people forget about them

 

[joemama]

Can't exactly fit my hand in between the GPU and PSU .Even if i did I'd have to pull the film which could unbalance the fan.I get the case cleaned every year or so.I guess I'll leave it till next summer

That must be a tight case. I wonder if the GPU is able to draw in enough air

 

[cheermate]

That must be a tight case. I wonder if the GPU is able to draw in enough air

Well there is clearance in between.But it's not enough for me to grab the film without pulling on the fan.That could result in it being unbalanced and i don't want to risk that

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Both my Evga 3080ti and my Gigabyte 4090 still have them on.... As far as I can tell they make no measurable difference.

 

[Keullo-e]

From time to time when I've bought used hardware, some sellers have left those on. Personally I like to always peel them. Like the pleasure from peeling the plastic from a case side window but in smaller size.

 

[sLowEnd]

Forgot to take off those protective films on top of the manufacturer sticker while installing the gpu and now i can't uninstall it because i can't unlock the pcie latch.Would it be okay to just leave them?

I'm guilty of forgetting to peel the plastic off fan hubs a couple of times. Nothing bad has ever resulted from it.

If you're having trouble reaching the PCI-E latch, it might be worthwhile to get a tool to help you, like a plastic auto trim flat pry, or something similar.

 

[freeagent]

I peeled the stickers off of my 980 Classified just a couple of years ago

 

[Blaeza]

I peeled my 6900XT instantly. Anything arrives with a peel on it's removed, OCD thing. As for unbalancing a fan, I think you are worrying too much.

 

[Jacky_BEL]

They are there to protect against fingerprints while handling.
So if you want to showcase the card you can take them off.

 

[P4-630]

It's usual best to leave them off when you're gaming and put them on again when not gaming....

 

[3DVCash]

I've left them on for literal years before... didn't know my 780 Ti even had them until I resold it. You're fine, OP

 

[Calenhad]

Forgot to take off those protective films on top of the manufacturer sticker while installing the gpu and now i can't uninstall it because i can't unlock the pcie latch.Would it be okay to just leave them?

Personally I would prefer to remove them. But it should be ok to leave them on.

That must be a tight case. I wonder if the GPU is able to draw in enough air

Luckily air is much thinner than a hand trying to remove a sticker

 

[freeagent]

It's usual best to leave them off when you're gaming and put them on again when not gaming....

This here is the solution