NZXT’s PC rental service, known as PC Flex, is facing serious legal trouble. The program, launched in 2024 as a monthly subscription for gamers who wanted to avoid the high upfront cost of a gaming PC, has now ended up in a federal court in California.
A class-action lawsuit, filed on August 5th, accuses NZXT and its partner, Fragile, of violating the civil RICO Act — a law typically used to combat organized crime. The lawsuit claims that both companies conspired to defraud consumers through “gross misrepresentations and illegal business practices.”
Details of the Alleged NZXT Fraud
The lawsuit describes the Flex program as a deceptive business scheme (thanks Tom’s Hardware). It alleges that customers were lured in with promises of high-end hardware, only to later receive inferior components, all disguised as part of a rent-to-own plan. Plaintiffs claim they were misled about the hardware they would receive and were ultimately denied ownership of the equipment that the service had suggested they would acquire.
One cited example involves a subscription that promised an RTX 4090 GPU, but the customer allegedly received a less powerful RTX 4080 instead — without any explanation or reduction in rental price.
A key point in the case is the role of Fragile. While NZXT is the public face of the program, the company’s own materials clarify that it only provides the hardware. Fragile is the one that handles subscriptions, billing, and component swaps, and appears as the contracting party in customer agreements.
Investigations and Previous Controversies
Concerns about the Flex service surfaced in late 2024 after an investigation by the tech outlet Gamers Nexus, which labeled the program as misleading. The report highlighted hardware swaps, aggressive fees, and inconsistent customer support. In response, NZXT promised to improve transparency but kept the same structure and its partnership with Fragile.
This lawsuit adds to NZXT’s recent controversies. The company previously faced a recall of its H1 cases in 2021 due to fire risks, and in 2023, it reached a settlement with California regulators over energy efficiency violations. Although RICO lawsuits require a high burden of proof, this filing indicates significant legal challenges ahead for NZXT’s Flex service.
