Gskill Fast RAM Memory Products Require Overclocking Class Action

This class action concerns RAM memory products from Gskill USA, Inc., which purportedly have high speeds of 3600 MHz and 4000 MHZ. The complaint alleges that the RAM products can’t reach their advertised speeds without changes to the computer’s firmware that result in “overclocking,” which theoretically optimizes the computer system’s performance, but which the complaint claims can also result in instability, crashes, overheating, or damage to components.

Two classes have been defined for this action:

• The New York Class is all persons in New York who bought the products during the applicable statutes of limitations.
• The Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class is all persons in Arkansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia, Utah, Idaho, Alaska, and Montana who bought the products during the applicable statues of limitations.

Consumers who buy the RAM products, for example the Ripjaws V DDR4-3600 MHz, the complaint says, are likely to expect the faster speeds “out of the box.” The complaint alleges that this expectation is reasonable, because the products for additional memory that consumers buy when they are buying a computer purchase, from companies like HP, Dell, or Apple do provide the advertised speed right out of the box.” However, this is not the case with the Gskill products, the complaint alleges, claiming that Gskill does not warn consumers of this.

To get the advertised speeds, the complaint alleges, consumers must modify their firmware through “overclocking.” Several modifications are involved:

Using specialized keyboard controls to adjust the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) settings.

Locating RAM frequency settings and increasing the speed to the target speed, such as 3600 or 4000 MHz, and changing multiple memory timing settings that interact with the frequency settings.

Using additional power, which can increase the voltage settings.

Overclocking purportedly optimizes a system’s performance, but the complaint alleges that the results may even be harmful in other ways: “The result is that stability of the system is compromised, causing crashes or glitches, overheated system components, faster degradation of critical components, and damage to the memory sticks themselves.”

Gskill does not tell consumer that the products cannot reach the advertised speeds, the complaint alleges, without the modifications and with other potentially harmful issues.

The products come with warranties, but the complaint alleges that Gskill does not honor them, because it does not replace or repair the products when they do not work properly.

The complaint alleges that the products are sold at a premium price, “higher than similar products, represented in a non-misleading way, and higher than it would be sold for absent the misleading representations and omissions.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Breach of warranty, Deceptive Advertising, Misleading Specifications, Omitting or Withholding Information