Are the 5.25 inch drive bay covers necessary?

[chilypepper]

I want to remove the covers and mount a fan on top of my cd drive, there is another mesh type thing covering it, would this be a good idea? this would (i hope) allow more air to go into this fan, which blows into my cpu cooler, which blows into the exhaust. Thanks

 

[MysticMiner]

No, they generally aren't necessary. You may want to put a dust filter on it, but you don't need the cover.