NZXT Flex: Difference between revisions
There is so much wrong with this entire situation; 10,000 words would only be used to brushing the surface. |
Fixed grammar, added a small section |
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[[File:Nzxt flex store page.png|alt=Nzxt flex store page|center|frame|[https://nzxt.com/flex/flex-two Nzxt flex store page] ]] | [[File:Nzxt flex store page.png|alt=Nzxt flex store page|center|frame|[https://nzxt.com/flex/flex-two Nzxt flex store page] ]] | ||
== Predatory Terms of Service<ref name=":0" /> == | ==Predatory Terms of Service<ref name=":0" />== | ||
=== | ===Vague and excessive fees=== | ||
** | **Referencing shipping policy<ref>https://nzxt.com/legal/nzxt-shipping-policy</ref> | ||
** | **Definitions of "damages to the rented hardware" | ||
** "If Operator is unable to collect funds owed to Operator from Subscriber, the Operator shall be entitled to charge Subscriber five-percent (5%) of the outstanding balance owed, or $20.00, whichever is greater, every thirty (30) days, until Subscriber has paid the entire balance owed. Operator may, at Operator’s sole discretion, waive these fees, provided Subscriber promptly returns all Rental Devices received as part of this Subscription." <ref name=":0" /> | **"If Operator is unable to collect funds owed to Operator from Subscriber, the Operator shall be entitled to charge Subscriber five-percent (5%) of the outstanding balance owed, or $20.00, whichever is greater, every thirty (30) days, until Subscriber has paid the entire balance owed. Operator may, at Operator’s sole discretion, waive these fees, provided Subscriber promptly returns all Rental Devices received as part of this Subscription." <ref name=":0" /> | ||
** " If Subscriber initiates a payment reversal or chargeback of any kind on a charge that was validly made under this Agreement, Subscriber will be assessed a fifty-dollar ($50.00) reversal fee, irrespective of any determination made by a bank, credit card issuer, or payment processor on the validity of the charge. If the payment is reversed, and refunded to the Subscriber, the Subscriber shall continue to be liable under this Agreement for payment to Operator for such amount." <ref name=":0" /> | **" If Subscriber initiates a payment reversal or chargeback of any kind on a charge that was validly made under this Agreement, Subscriber will be assessed a fifty-dollar ($50.00) reversal fee, irrespective of any determination made by a bank, credit card issuer, or payment processor on the validity of the charge. If the payment is reversed, and refunded to the Subscriber, the Subscriber shall continue to be liable under this Agreement for payment to Operator for such amount." <ref name=":0" /> | ||
* | *No ownership when you exceed rented items value | ||
**Unclear semi annual upgrade guarantee | |||
** | *Difficulty of canceling rental service. | ||
* | |||
== Predatory Pricing | ==Predatory Pricing== | ||
NZXT FLEX rental cost was calculated by investigative journalist and youtube creator Steve Bruke of Gamers Nexus compared to competitors and illegal predatory payday loans. these numbers where based of a credit apr of 22% over a 2 year period and compared against a hypothetical, 103% apr, illegal payday loan. | NZXT FLEX rental cost was calculated by investigative journalist and youtube creator Steve Bruke of Gamers Nexus compared to competitors and illegal predatory payday loans. these numbers where based of a credit apr of 22% over a 2 year period and compared against a hypothetical, 103% apr, illegal payday loan. | ||
[[File:Gamers nexus nzxt price comparison chart .png|alt=NZXT FLEX rental cost based on APR compared to competitors and illegal predatory payday loans|center|thumb|800x800px|NZXT FLEX rental cost based on APR compared to competitors and illegal predatory payday loans ]] | [[File:Gamers nexus nzxt price comparison chart .png|alt=NZXT FLEX rental cost based on APR compared to competitors and illegal predatory payday loans|center|thumb|800x800px|NZXT FLEX rental cost based on APR compared to competitors and illegal predatory payday loans ]] | ||
The first month of the rental service is "on us", which implies it's of no cost, however many fees including an undefined "Setup fee"<ref name=":0" /> as well as any applicable One-time fees <ref name=":0" /> will apply. | The first month of the rental service is "on us", which implies it's of no cost, however many fees including an undefined "Setup fee"<ref name=":0" /> as well as any applicable One-time fees <ref name=":0" /> will apply. | ||
== Use of false and predatory advertising. == | ==Use of false and predatory advertising.== | ||
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/i-want-to-acknowledge-that-we-messed-up-nzxt-addresses-concerns-about-its-controversial-flex-gaming-pc-rental-program-and-commits-to-taking-action/ | https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/i-want-to-acknowledge-that-we-messed-up-nzxt-addresses-concerns-about-its-controversial-flex-gaming-pc-rental-program-and-commits-to-taking-action/ | ||
Despite NZXT stating in their ''December 4, 2024 [https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program press release]'' that: | |||
"We are extending the dispute charges window from 60 days to 2 years and will comply with any regulations that provide longer dispute windows."<ref>https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program</ref> | |||
their agreement still states as of January 28th 2025, more than 55 days after the [https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program press release] was last updated | |||
more than 55 days after the [https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program press release] was last updated | |||
" If Subscriber accrues an unpaid balance for more than sixty (60) calendar days, Operator may use all legal methods and remedies available to collect such unpaid balance including, but not limited to, civil litigation and selling such balance to third-party collection companies. Subscriber shall be liable for any and all collection costs incurred by Operator, Operator’s affiliates, or third parties involved in the collection of Subscriber’s unpaid balance, including attorneys fees, filing costs, and collection agency fees. Subscriber will, on the first of each month, be assessed an eight-percent (8%) monthly interest rate on any remaining unpaid balance and unpaid fees or interest assessed. " | " If Subscriber accrues an unpaid balance for more than sixty (60) calendar days, Operator may use all legal methods and remedies available to collect such unpaid balance including, but not limited to, civil litigation and selling such balance to third-party collection companies. Subscriber shall be liable for any and all collection costs incurred by Operator, Operator’s affiliates, or third parties involved in the collection of Subscriber’s unpaid balance, including attorneys fees, filing costs, and collection agency fees. Subscriber will, on the first of each month, be assessed an eight-percent (8%) monthly interest rate on any remaining unpaid balance and unpaid fees or interest assessed. " | ||
Therefore, makes their 2 year window statement | Therefore, makes their 2 year window statement <u>clearly false and misleading'''.'''</u> | ||
=== | ===Inconsistent and misleading product specifications <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pomC1CfpC0</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAANNGvMANM</ref>=== | ||
==== Inconsistencies between bought and rental PC's ==== | ====Inconsistencies between bought and rental PC's==== | ||
NZXT has an option to either buy a prebuilt gaming PC, or rent one (Flex). NZXT listed the estimated FPS in various games as the same between the bought and rented PC's, despite swapping out hardware. For example, a bought "Player: Three Prime" model would come with an RTX 4090, while the rental version only comes with a 4080 SUPER.<ref>https://beefsuplex.com/news/gamers-nexus-calls-out-nzxt/</ref><ref>https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/1/24310181/nzxt-pc-rental-program-gamers-nexus-investigation</ref><ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-video-claims-nzxt-pc-rental-program-is-a-scam-company-says-its-looking-into-it/1100-6528179/</ref> These two GPUs have vastly different performance, with the 4090 having an average of +25% over the 4080 SUPER.<ref>https://hardwaretimes.com/nvidia-rtx-4080-vs-4080-super-vs-4090/</ref> | NZXT has an option to either buy a prebuilt gaming PC, or rent one (Flex). NZXT listed the estimated FPS in various games as the same between the bought and rented PC's, despite swapping out hardware. For example, a bought "Player: Three Prime" model would come with an RTX 4090, while the rental version only comes with a 4080 SUPER.<ref>https://beefsuplex.com/news/gamers-nexus-calls-out-nzxt/</ref><ref>https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/1/24310181/nzxt-pc-rental-program-gamers-nexus-investigation</ref><ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-video-claims-nzxt-pc-rental-program-is-a-scam-company-says-its-looking-into-it/1100-6528179/</ref> These two GPUs have vastly different performance, with the 4090 having an average of +25% over the 4080 SUPER.<ref>https://hardwaretimes.com/nvidia-rtx-4080-vs-4080-super-vs-4090/</ref> | ||
== Changing the terms of the sale == | ==Changing the terms of the sale== | ||
[[File:Nzxt changes it's advertisng language.png|alt=Nzxt changes it's advertisng language|center|thumb|800x800px|Nzxt changes it's advertising language]] | [[File:Nzxt changes it's advertisng language.png|alt=Nzxt changes it's advertisng language|center|thumb|800x800px|Nzxt changes it's advertising language]] | ||
NZXT publicly stated many policy, website & marketing changes in response to the controversy and community backlash. <ref>https://nzxt.com/</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program</ref> | NZXT publicly stated many policy, website & marketing changes in response to the controversy and community backlash. <ref>https://nzxt.com/</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program</ref> | ||
| Line 56: | Line 54: | ||
=== Day-to-day switching of specifications and pricing === | ===Day-to-day switching of specifications and pricing=== | ||
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/1/24310181/nzxt-pc-rental-program-gamers-nexus-investigation | The specs and price listings have been reported to change constantly, with very similar setups reported to have varying prices<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/1/24310181/nzxt-pc-rental-program-gamers-nexus-investigation</ref> | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
Revision as of 13:09, 29 January 2025
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NZXT Flex
| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2024 |
| Product Type | Rental Service |
| In Production | Yes |
| Official Website | https://nzxt.com/collection/flex |
NZXT Flex is a rental service launched in 2024 by NZXT in partnership with Fragile (a Software company that provides "layered financing" and services on top of hardware subscriptions,[1][2]) for its prebuilt, gaming-focused desktop computers.[3] Customers can choose to rent a pre-built gaming computer from three monthly plans, based on their performance needs and budget, with three main tiers that each also offer a "Prime" upgrade option that includes higher spec components for an additional monthly upcharge. NZXT guarantees PC upgrades every two years and full warranty support. [4]
Predatory Terms of Service[2]
Vague and excessive fees
- Referencing shipping policy[5]
- Definitions of "damages to the rented hardware"
- "If Operator is unable to collect funds owed to Operator from Subscriber, the Operator shall be entitled to charge Subscriber five-percent (5%) of the outstanding balance owed, or $20.00, whichever is greater, every thirty (30) days, until Subscriber has paid the entire balance owed. Operator may, at Operator’s sole discretion, waive these fees, provided Subscriber promptly returns all Rental Devices received as part of this Subscription." [2]
- " If Subscriber initiates a payment reversal or chargeback of any kind on a charge that was validly made under this Agreement, Subscriber will be assessed a fifty-dollar ($50.00) reversal fee, irrespective of any determination made by a bank, credit card issuer, or payment processor on the validity of the charge. If the payment is reversed, and refunded to the Subscriber, the Subscriber shall continue to be liable under this Agreement for payment to Operator for such amount." [2]
- No ownership when you exceed rented items value
- Unclear semi annual upgrade guarantee
- Difficulty of canceling rental service.
Predatory Pricing
NZXT FLEX rental cost was calculated by investigative journalist and youtube creator Steve Bruke of Gamers Nexus compared to competitors and illegal predatory payday loans. these numbers where based of a credit apr of 22% over a 2 year period and compared against a hypothetical, 103% apr, illegal payday loan.
The first month of the rental service is "on us", which implies it's of no cost, however many fees including an undefined "Setup fee"[2] as well as any applicable One-time fees [2] will apply.
Use of false and predatory advertising.
Despite NZXT stating in their December 4, 2024 press release that:
"We are extending the dispute charges window from 60 days to 2 years and will comply with any regulations that provide longer dispute windows."[6]
their agreement still states as of January 28th 2025, more than 55 days after the press release was last updated
" If Subscriber accrues an unpaid balance for more than sixty (60) calendar days, Operator may use all legal methods and remedies available to collect such unpaid balance including, but not limited to, civil litigation and selling such balance to third-party collection companies. Subscriber shall be liable for any and all collection costs incurred by Operator, Operator’s affiliates, or third parties involved in the collection of Subscriber’s unpaid balance, including attorneys fees, filing costs, and collection agency fees. Subscriber will, on the first of each month, be assessed an eight-percent (8%) monthly interest rate on any remaining unpaid balance and unpaid fees or interest assessed. "
Therefore, makes their 2 year window statement clearly false and misleading.
Inconsistent and misleading product specifications [7][8]
Inconsistencies between bought and rental PC's
NZXT has an option to either buy a prebuilt gaming PC, or rent one (Flex). NZXT listed the estimated FPS in various games as the same between the bought and rented PC's, despite swapping out hardware. For example, a bought "Player: Three Prime" model would come with an RTX 4090, while the rental version only comes with a 4080 SUPER.[9][10][11] These two GPUs have vastly different performance, with the 4090 having an average of +25% over the 4080 SUPER.[12]
Changing the terms of the sale
NZXT publicly stated many policy, website & marketing changes in response to the controversy and community backlash. [13][3][14]
Additionally the Terms of Service was changed immediately following
Day-to-day switching of specifications and pricing
The specs and price listings have been reported to change constantly, with very similar setups reported to have varying prices[15]
Basic Specifications and Pricing
As of January 14, 2025, the core component selection and pricing for each tier of the service for customers in the US was as follows:
| NZXT Flex | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | One "Prime" | Two | Two "Prime" | Three | Three "Prime" | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-12400F | Intel Core i5-13400F | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | Intel Core i7-13700KF | Intel Core i9-14900KF |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER |
| RAM | 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200 MHz | 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR5 5200 MHz | 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200 MHz | 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5 5200 MHz | 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5 5600 MHz | 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5 6000MHz |
| Storage | 500GB NVMe M.2 SSD | 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD | 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD | 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD | 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD | 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD |
| Total (USD / Month) | $59/mo | $89/mo | $129/mo | $159/mo | $179/mo | $259/mo |
Follow-up by NZXT
https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program
References
- ↑ https://tracxn.com/d/companies/fragile/__IHcXfD8Mcy-IkjmKTBsCtGr0PzSjZve_Y147UR110MA
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 https://fragile.co/legal/subscription-agreement
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://nzxt.com/news/flex
- ↑ https://nzxt.com/flex/flex-two
- ↑ https://nzxt.com/legal/nzxt-shipping-policy
- ↑ https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pomC1CfpC0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAANNGvMANM
- ↑ https://beefsuplex.com/news/gamers-nexus-calls-out-nzxt/
- ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/1/24310181/nzxt-pc-rental-program-gamers-nexus-investigation
- ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-video-claims-nzxt-pc-rental-program-is-a-scam-company-says-its-looking-into-it/1100-6528179/
- ↑ https://hardwaretimes.com/nvidia-rtx-4080-vs-4080-super-vs-4090/
- ↑ https://nzxt.com/
- ↑ https://nzxt.com/news/nzxt-update-addressing-your-concerns-about-the-flex-subscription-program
- ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/1/24310181/nzxt-pc-rental-program-gamers-nexus-investigation