Nvidia to pay each GTX 970 owner $30 over memory controversy

[P4-630]

More than a year and a half ago, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 970 was the subject of a major controversy concerning its memory subsystem. Enthusiasts discovered that the graphics card, which was advertised as having 4 GB of memory, actually only had 3.5 GB of high-performance GDDR5 and a further 512 MB of performance-limited GDDR5.

There was a lot of discussion at the time about whether the two-tiered memory subsystem was actually a performance issue in games. Despite Nvidia claiming it made no difference, users who bought the GTX 970 weren't happy, and filed multiple class-action lawsuits against the company alleging false advertising and deceptive business practice.

Earlier this week, Nvidia agreed to settle a total of 15 class-action lawsuits for undisclosed terms. However, Nvidia has publicly agreed to pay $30 to every person who purchased a GTX 970, and cover $1.3 million in legal fees.

This is only a preliminary settlement, so a court still needs to approve the terms before buyers can start claiming their $30. Nvidia has indicated they will not cap the total amount they will pay to consumers.

When users can begin filing their claims, we'll be sure to let you know. It's not clear at this stage whether those who purchased a GTX 970 outside of the United States will be able claim their $30, as the lawsuits were filed and settled in California.

http://www.techspot.com/news/65771-gtx-970-owners-30-dollar-settlement.html

 

[the54thvoid]

More than a year and a half ago, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 970 was the subject of a major controversy concerning its memory subsystem. Enthusiasts discovered that the graphics card, which was advertised as having 4 GB of memory, actually only had 3.5 GB of high-performance GDDR5 and a further 512 MB of performance-limited GDDR5.

There was a lot of discussion at the time about whether the two-tiered memory subsystem was actually a performance issue in games. Despite Nvidia claiming it made no difference, users who bought the GTX 970 weren't happy, and filed multiple class-action lawsuits against the company alleging false advertising and deceptive business practice.

Earlier this week, Nvidia agreed to settle a total of 15 class-action lawsuits for undisclosed terms. However, Nvidia has publicly agreed to pay $30 to every person who purchased a GTX 970, and cover $1.3 million in legal fees.

This is only a preliminary settlement, so a court still needs to approve the terms before buyers can start claiming their $30. Nvidia has indicated they will not cap the total amount they will pay to consumers.

When users can begin filing their claims, we'll be sure to let you know. It's not clear at this stage whether those who purchased a GTX 970 outside of the United States will be able claim their $30, as the lawsuits were filed and settled in California.

http://www.techspot.com/news/65771-gtx-970-owners-30-dollar-settlement.html

Like the VW emissions furore, I don't think this will cross the pond. EU and UK work on different litigation processes.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Like the VW emissions furore, I don't think this will cross the pond. EU and UK work on different litigation processes.

It makes the lawyers rich.

Its not going to sting Nvidia much in the pocket and the consumers dont gain much either.

 

[Vayra86]

Even out of pure principle, I feel this is a good move.

 

[little cat]

Blah , blah , it has 4GB and all is usable . The internal functionality is NVida job .

A user of Radeon with 8GB (R9 390(X)?! cant recall ) reported that every time the usage of VRAM reached 4,2GB , VRAM was cleared to the minimum 400MB . Shall we sue AMD , if it is true .

 

[Vayra86]

Blah , blah , it has 4GB and all is usable . The internal functionality is NVida job .

A user of Radeon with 8GB (R9 390(X)?! cant recall ) reported that every time the usage of VRAM reached 4,2GB , VRAM was cleared to the minimum 400MB . Shall we sue AMD , if it is true .

Apples and apples. One Radeon user versus every single GTX 970 on the market. Hmm Let's not get into that further shall we.

The fact remains Nvidia sold a product under the guise of it being more than it was. Thát is what matters, not the performance of said product 'at this time'. The GTX 970 is already falling off in some benches, it will beinteresting to see in a year's time.

 

[qubit]

No wonder NVIDIA didn't cripple the GTX 1070 the same way.

This settlement has had much more far reaching consequences than just compensation and punishment: we get better products with less underhand tactics.

 

[jboydgolfer]

if theres no date cap on purchase, i got $60 coming to me

 

[Jack1n]

Good thing I bought my card in the US, I bought mine already knowing about the whole 3.5 GB affair so I did not really expect anything like this, but hey its 30$, why not.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

I bet all the people who defended Nvidia at the time will also claim their $ 30.00

I know i would.....

 

[erocker]

Please continue here: https://www.techpowerup.com/224530/nvidia-settles-class-action-lawsuit-over-gtx-970-memory