Nvidia To Compensate Customers Over Defective GPUs

A class-action lawsuit over defective graphics filed against Nvidia two years ago has resulted in a settlement -- the details of which were made available as of Thursday to consumers seeking compensation.

The suit involves a weak die and faulty packaging material in Nvidia's GeForce 8600M graphics processors operating inside notebooks built by manufacturers including Dell, HP, and Apple.

In the settlement on August 12, Nvidia agreed to pay $13 million for the plaintiffs' legal fees. In addition, it will deposit $2 million into a reimbursement fund and replace any faulty GPUs. The $2 million fund is available to those who have experienced one or more of the "identified failures," according to the settlement as quoted in C-Net.

Nvidia has already spent $450 million since July 2008 to cover costs associated with the repair and replacement of laptops affected by issues with Nvidia's GPUs and their packaging.

Nvidia issued the following statement on Thursday: "We can confirm that Nvidia has settled litigation concerning a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of our previous generation MCP (media and communication processor) and GPU products used in notebook configurations."

Next: Nvidia Explains How it intends To Compensate Those Affected

The statement goes on to explain: "Notice of this settlement has been sent to potentially affected eligible customers. Claims are being processed through a third party administrator who is working directly with our customers. Consumers who believe they are affected and wish to file a claim should read the notice and follow the instructions that it sets out."

Nvidia reiterated that the cost of this settlement is already reflected in the company's second-quarter financial results.

However, Nvidia continues to deny any wrongdoing, saying they've decided to settle "solely because it will eliminate the burden, expense, management distraction and uncertainties of further litigation."

Those who may be entitled to the benefits of this settlement can checknvidiasettlement.com for a list of over fifty affected models and register to have eligible laptops fixed.