Yes some will cut away the contacts but I would go the easier of the 2 routes and just cut the back of the x8 slot go on youtube there are plenty of videos about it, if you cut the GPU and one day you decide to upgrade your mobo your card will still have the x16 capability and I only recommend this if for certain the ribbon cable option will not work for you I'm not familiar with your case but with the cable you may be able to mount it vertically as that is a common use for those cables