Sign Up for Corsair Gaming Class Action Lawsuit

Anyone in the U.S. who purchased Corsair DDR4 (over 2133 MHz) or DDR5 (over 4800 MHz) desktop memory between Jan 14, 2018 and Jul 2, 2025.

Claimants may receive $138–$183 per qualifying purchase, depending on the number of valid claims.

No proof is needed for up to five purchases; receipts are required for more than five and strengthen all claims.

Claims must be submitted by October 28, 2025.

After the January 8, 2026 final approval hearing, assuming no appeals or major fraud investigations delay distribution.

Laptop sticks (SODIMM) were carved out because the theory of deception—and the evidence—were most uniform for retail desktop DIMMs. Desktop buyers typically saw Corsair’s retail packaging and product pages that highlighted high MHz “rated” speeds, while actually needing BIOS/XMP-style overclocking to reach them. With laptops, that uniform exposure breaks down: SODIMMs are often pre-installed by OEMs, many laptop BIOSes lock out XMP, and shoppers may never see Corsair’s retail labeling at purchase. That variability creates Rule 23 problems (commonality/predominance) and a muddier damages model.

The settlement also requires packaging/website label changes (“up to” speeds + overclocking/BIOS note). Those remedies map cleanly to retail desktop boxes and reseller pages—far less so to OEM laptop channels. Practically and legally, narrowing to desktop DIMMs delivered cleaner class boundaries, a consistent misrepresentation record, and scalable injunctive fixes—maximizing approval odds and value per claimant.

Bottom line: SODIMM/laptop memory wasn’t included because exposure, BIOS behavior, and sales context aren’t uniform enough to certify and administer at scale, while desktop DIMMs presented a cohesive class with clear corrective labeling leverage.

Here’s what truly sets this one apart from “typical” tech settlements:

- Cash + targeted fixes that match the harm. Beyond a $5.5M non-reversionary cash fund, Corsair must update packaging, website, and reseller spec sheets to list speeds as “up to” and state that reaching them requires overclocking/PC BIOS adjustments and depends on motherboard/CPU—precisely the conduct plaintiffs challenged, not a vague promise to “review practices.”

- Broad, modern product scope. It covers DDR4 and DDR5 desktop memory (not just one generation) and is nationwide, consolidating what could have been many state-by-state cases into one coherent deal with a single fund.

- Friction-lowering claims design. You can claim up to five products without proof (proof required beyond five). That’s unusual in hardware cases and acknowledges that many buyers don’t retain RAM receipts years later—while still allowing verification for higher-volume claims.

- Pro-class fee safeguards. Fees are sought at the Ninth Circuit 25% benchmark and there’s no “clear-sailing” clause—the defendant can oppose fees. That reduces collusion risk and keeps more scrutiny on the net to the class.

- Plain-cash, pro-rata distribution. No coupons or vouchers. The fund is split among approved claims, yielding an estimated $138–$183 per purchase given expected claim rates.

- Tight timelines. Claim deadline: Oct 28, 2025. Final approval hearing: Jan 8, 2026. Payments typically issue ~45 days after final approval/appeals, giving consumers a clear runway rather than an open-ended wait.

Angeion uses IP tracking, address and bank cross-matching, and flagged “receipt farm” scanning. Their fraud filters were praised in prior high-volume settlements like Volkswagen Clean Diesel.

Most tech settlements pay $10–$50. Here, relatively low claims rates plus a $5.5M fund mean per-claim payouts are unusually large.

Plaintiffs brought in economists and consumer behavior experts to quantify the price premium caused by Corsair’s speed advertising. This evidence directly influenced the size of the fund.

Economists like Colin Weir and Hal Singer quantified how much extra consumers paid because of Corsair’s MHz claims. By isolating Corsair’s RAM sales with higher advertised speeds, they argued the company captured a measurable premium compared to baseline memory. That damages model gave the plaintiffs hard numbers to push for a $5.5M non-reversionary fund rather than token coupons.

Marketing expert Thomas Maronick ran surveys showing that ordinary buyers read MHz labels as promises of out-of-box performance, not as “overclocking potential.” This evidence went to materiality (the label mattered) and common impact across the class, key hurdles for Rule 23 certification.

Computer science expert Kevin Almeroth explained that Corsair’s modules shipped with default JEDEC speeds (2133 MHz for DDR4, 4800 MHz for DDR5) and only hit advertised speeds with BIOS/XMP changes. He likened this to selling a car advertised at “200 mph” that requires aftermarket tuning. This made the misrepresentation legible to the court.

Corsair fought hard to exclude these experts under Daubert, arguing their models and surveys were speculative. The fact that plaintiffs’ testimony survived to mediation gave them leverage: Corsair risked facing a jury with credible, technical, and economic proof of deception.

The experts gave plaintiffs both economic heft (quantified damages) and credibility with a tech-heavy product, which explains why this settlement is larger and more corrective than many consumer hardware cases.