GTX 970 Owners Get $30 From Settlement With Nvidia, Gigabyte, Asus, EVGA

In February 2015, several people filed a lawsuit against Nvidia, Gigabyte, Asus and EVGA over the inaccuracy of the specs of the GeForce GTX 970. Yesterday, the case was settled, and even though the four companies didn’t admit liability, those who file a valid claim for their GTX 970 GPU will receive a $30 cash payment.

The original lawsuit claimed that Nvidia, as well as the other three companies, posted false specs for the GPU. The advertised specs for the GTX 970 had 4 GB of VRAM, 64 render output processors (ROP) and an L2 cache of 2.048 MB. The lawsuit claimed that card actually had 3.5 GB of VRAM, 56 ROPs and an L2 cache of 1.792 MB.

In terms of the settlement, the companies will “make a cash payment of $30 per GTX 970 unit to Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims, with no cap.”

The settlement cost of $30 was calculated because the average retail price of the GTX 970 is $350 and the cash payment would represent 8.6 percent of the purchase price. That percentage was reached by a measurement of one of the lawsuit’s major claims — that GTX 970 users had 3.5 GB of VRAM instead of the advertised 4 GB. That 0.5 GB discrepancy was calculated as 12.5 percent of the total advertised VRAM. If the case proceeded to the trial stage and the companies lost, the settlement cost would have been $43.75, or 12.5 percent of the $350 average retail price. Because the case never went to trial, and the four companies opted to settle, the $30 represented 70 percent of the original $43.75 settlement cost if the defendants lost the trial.

With a “no cap” settlement, it’s unclear how much Nvidia, Gigabyte, Asus and EVGA have to pay back to their customers that bought the GTX 970. The number of customers undoubtedly grew over the past few months with the GTX 970 considered to be the minimum requirement for a computer to run virtual reality devices such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. If the settlement is approved, the defendants have to notify customers by October 23. Those affected will have to submit a claim by December 21 in order to get compensation.

  • Math Geek
    any word on how to claim the settlement?
    Reply
  • clonazepam
    18353243 said:
    any word on how to claim the settlement?

    I haven't seen that yet. Anyway, I rate nvidia a 3.5 out of 4 stars for negotiating a reasonable solution in a timely manner.
    Reply
  • cl-justin
    That's awesome. Thanks for the heads up. Now I can let people know when they complain about the 3.5GB RAM
    Reply
  • soccerdude84
    What about MSI?
    Reply
  • bloodroses
    18353333 said:
    18353243 said:
    any word on how to claim the settlement?

    I haven't seen that yet. Anyway, I rate nvidia a 3.5 out of 4 stars for negotiating a reasonable solution in a timely manner.

    Tell that to those that got screwed out of a settlement due to faulty 8600M GPUs in their laptop. That was a waste of $2500 for the Toshiba I had with dual 8600M's in it. Only certain brand laptops gave the reimbursement.

    http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-geforce-faulty-defect-gpu,7795.html
    Reply
  • iPanda
    it hasn't been specified yet. but usually a basic website is set-up to submit your documentation and contact information.

    they usually use a name that mentions the lawsuit (e.g. 970settlement.xyz; nvidiasettlement.zyx; blahblahblah) or it's tied to the main law firms site.

    be prepared to wait. i have done a few for other products and sometimes forget about it until i get a random check in the mail months later.
    Reply
  • manleysteele
    I'm one of the people that bought a 970 before the big brouhaha. I don't care anything about the law suit or a possible refund. I'm certainly not jumping through any hoops to get $30. If they want to send me a check without me doing anything, fine. Otherwise, I'm busy.
    Reply
  • olorin12
    Yay free money
    Reply
  • targetdrone
    18353399 said:
    I'm one of the people that bought a 970 before the big brouhaha. I don't care anything about the law suit or a possible refund. I'm certainly not jumping through any hoops to get $30. If they want to send me a check without me doing anything, fine. Otherwise, I'm busy.


    That's exactly what they are banking on. Congratulations, you fell for it.
    Reply
  • dish_moose
    The only winners in this whole thing was the lawyers! If nvidia had come clean right from the start (when they knew they were wrong) they may not have lost the trust of many loyal customers - me included.
    -Bruce
    Reply