As I said, I personally received 218 dollars from the settlement.
from the settlement - not the final hearing of the case, as the case itself was thrown out.
The case itself fell apart in federal court for lack of substantial evidence, and both companies agreed to settlements just to get the issue out of the way - but, they only agreed to payments for their brand products sold by them directly . . .
which means that nVidia didn't have to shell out a dime, as they don't sell their hardware directly on their site - and ATI have only payed very little in any settlement, as the settlement only covered what cards they sold directly on their site . . . not through 3rd party vendors.
Again, it's very different - if the case had managed to stay together, and be fully heard in court, you might've recieved more . . .
even still, I don't feel it negates the ignorance of the consumer - if you're capable enough to purchase hardware online, your more than capable enough to search out the best deals from reputable retailers. In regards to users who've bought ATI or nVidia cards that later felt it wasn't worth it, you could've easily returned the product (if you were smart enough to buy from a reputable retailer), and recieved your money back . . . keeping a product that you're not happy with is simply shtoopid.
IMHO, it's just another instance of people wanting money for free, and thinking they're entitled to it.
How would it be ATi's fault you bought an inferior product when I'm sure there was a better choice available on the market?
agreed - like I just mentioned, if one purchases a product they're not happy with, then keep it . . . it's your own damn fault.
It's because of these kinds of lawsuits and frivolous allegations that we pay so much for the vast majority of products nowadays - VGA adapters included.
If anything, I think perhaps we should create a class-action lawsuit filed against all the plantiffs of the previous class-action lawsuit for causing prices of current hardware to continue to rise.