Oh man, I forgot about those. Yeah, they're terrible! I took them off (which was easy).

And yes, you're right about the case connectors. Those wouldn't fit a long video card. If you don't have a case, though, you don't need those connectors, so not a huge deal.

But...
Yeah, that's a nice board  . It's a shame the last slot is unusable if you have a case.

But, as I said, I probably wouldn't use a case again. I'd just buy a wire shelf from the hardware store, cardboard, and twisty ties. Heck, you could even use extenders and dangle video cards from an upper shelf with the mobo below it