Corsair, without a doubt, is one of the biggest and most famous computer component companies out there. Especially for things like RAM, PSU, and other things. But right now, you must be seeing this Corsair Class Action Lawsuit, and you might be wondering like, what is the real problem here? Does it have anything to do with the customers or anything like that? Well, unfortunately, yes, and the details of this case might be a bit shocking for some of you. So let’s just get to it then.
What Is This Lawsuit About?
Okay, let me explain it to you piece by piece. A class action lawsuit was filed against Corsair, the brand mainly known for its gaming gear, especially RAM modules. Basically, the problem is that they advertised certain DDR4 and DDR5 memory units in a misleading way from 2018 onwards.
The primary issue? Corsair had Corsair RAM speeds that were faster than the ones that the users were actually getting out of the box. The figures that were printed on the packages seemed to be okay; however, the performance was not up to the mark unless users had to do some manual changes. We will detail that part shortly.
Who Filed It and Why?
A Californian customer acquired Corsair RAM with the expectation that it would deliver fast performance right from the start. As soon as it didn’t, he took legal action and arranged for two law firms-Dovel & Luner and Kneupper & Covey, to represent him. The case was brought before a federal court in Northern California.
What was the point? The lawsuit states that the advertising of Corsair RAM gave the impression that the memory would be operating at high speeds out of the box. However, this was not true. If users did not change the BIOS settings manually, the performance would be at a lower level. The lawsuit represents the many people who have likely experienced the same situation.
What Exactly Did Corsair Do?
Corsair was promoting memory kits such as the Vengeance and Dominator series with speeds being promoted like 3200 MHz, 4600 MHz, and even higher. Was that the case, though? Well, it runs out, NO! These were actually the maximum possible speeds a RAM can go to by doing the overclocking, and that’s something not every PC user does. Or do they?
If you technically look at their claims, of course, Corsair was right, but they didn’t mention it anywhere that the user manually needs to overclock the RAM in order to achieve the higher memory frequency or speed. In a way, that’s just straight-up cheating, and surely, many customers felt deceived by it.
The suit highlights that Corsair did not divulge this information in any way. There was no warning label, no appropriate indication on the package, absolutely and literally nothing. As a result, many people believed that they were getting a high-speed RAM that would work straight away without any additional steps, but that was not the case.
Is Overclocking Really That Risky?
You could be thinking, “Okay, then why not just overclock the RAM?” But the thing is, it is not that simple and can involve some risk for your system and components as well.
The suit claims that overclocking has dangers associated with it. It may be perfectly fine for a certain group of people, but a system crash and instability may result in some others. The truth is, it is a matter of your CPU, motherboard, and other components. Hence, the reason why it is being referred to as the “silicon lottery”.
Also, a majority of people purchasing RAM are not willing to adjust their BIOS settings. They just don’t look forward to it because it is complex. The most typical users simply crave enhanced performance for gaming, video editing, or multitasking activities, and definitely not malfunctions of their system.
