That is a functional handle. The case was designed and built for carrying the computer (Renton) by the handle. The force is distributed along the front, back, and sides to the bottom of the case.
While I would have liked to upgrade the cooling system earlier in Renton's life, this will have to do. One ARCTIC F8 fan over a stock Intel heat sink on the CPU and one Delta fan over the heat sink on the GPU. They do the job well enough.