Nvidia GTX 980 and 960 lawsuit notifications sent to Newegg customers

There’s been an odd development in the Nvidia GTX 970 class action lawsuit settlement today, as Newegg users are reporting receiving notifications for 980 and 960 GPUs as well.

The subreddit for Nvidia GPU chat has a few of these posts, including this one regarding a 980 and this example email about the GTX 960. It’s unclear at present why this might be happening, as the class action lawsuit settlement refers only to the GTX 970 card throughout.

“We have been informed about a class action lawsuit settlement with NVIDIA regarding the [GTX 980/GTX 960] graphics card. Newegg is currently awaiting details about the settlements claims process (instructions, website). Once we have this important information, we will send you a follow-up email with the specifics on how you can submit your claim,” the emails read.

A Newegg blog post from 29 July states it has a “full list” of affected cards “from Whatley Kallas LLP, counsel for the plaintiffs” and indicates that “Similar lawsuits get bunched together as a matter of convenience and speed for the courts. So, somewhere along the line, a lot of products outside of the GTX 970 were added.”

The original settlement report from TopClassActions does indeed note that the GTX 970 case was just one of fifteen class action suits consolidated into one. This may explain why a great many other GPU models appear on Newegg’s list, including, bizarrely enough, some cards from AMD (various models in the R9 range).

In the GTX 970 case, the specifics of misleading advertising referred to the separation of 3.5GB and 0.5GB of VRAM which, when under load, didn’t function as effectively as a ‘true’ 4GB of VRAM. There was also reference to the card having “64 render output processors” when it only had 56.

Without access to the other class action suits, it’s impossible to say precisely why so many other GPUs, including the GTX 980 and 960, appear to have become part of this settlement deal (or if some of the inclusions are even accurate).

Owners of the GTX 970 may ultimately be entitled to a $30 USD compensation payment. There will no doubt be some qualifying factors for making such a claim, and the process for doing so hasn’t yet been finalised. Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLC will be handling that, so once a compensation process is set up, expect it to be listed through their site. It’s unclear and unstated at this time what, if anything, 980/960 owners may be entitled to receive.

Update: As of 2 August, the Newegg blog post referenced in this article (and the list) has been pulled offline.

Update 4 August: It’s now confirmed that emails were sent in error by Newegg. Only the GTX 970 is affected by the class action suit.