Amidst ongoing advancements in PC component technology, reliability remains a critical factor for builders and consumers alike.System integrator Puget Systems this week released it’s annual component reliability report,offering data-driven insights into hardware failure rates throughout 2025. [[2]] The report, based on internal testing and customer return data from the company’s workstation and high-performance PC builds, provides a valuable resource for informed purchasing decisions as manufacturers navigate increasingly complex designs.[[1]]
Component reliability remains a key concern for PC builders and system integrators, and new data from Puget Systems offers a fresh look at which hardware is proving most dependable in 2025. The findings, released this week, come as manufacturers continue to push the boundaries of performance and integration in CPUs, GPUs, and other critical components.
Puget Systems, a U.S.-based system integrator specializing in workstations and high-performance PCs, regularly publishes reliability data based on its sales and support ticket rates. While the company serves primarily professional clients, its configurations often mirror those found in consumer-grade machines, including the latest AMD Ryzen 9000 and Intel Core Ultra 200 series processors, as well as AMD Radeon 9000 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 graphics cards.
The latest report, , provides valuable insights into component failure rates, helping users make informed purchasing decisions.
Processors
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In the workstation CPU category, Intel Xeon processors have overtaken AMD Threadripper PRO as the most reliable option for 2025. Puget Systems reported zero returns for service related to Xeon W-2500 and W-3500 series processors throughout the year.
For mainstream processors, the Intel Core Ultra 265K leads with a failure rate of just 0.77%. However, Puget Systems notes that overall, AMD Ryzen 9000 and Intel Core Ultra 200 series processors are closely matched, with failure rates of 2.52% and 2.49% respectively. Notably, Ryzen X3D processors, featuring 3D V-Cache, demonstrated strong reliability with a 1.51% failure rate.
Graphics Cards
The graphics card data is largely focused on NVIDIA products. While Puget Systems does offer AMD Radeon cards like the RX 9070 XT, the limited sales volume of Radeon GPUs prevented a statistically significant comparison.
Among consumer graphics cards, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition cards take the top spot with a failure rate of only 0.25%. ASUS follows in second place with 0.40%, and PNY in third with 0.45%.
For professional graphics cards, both NVIDIA RTX Ada and RTX PRO Blackwell cards are highlighted for their reliability. Only one RTX PRO Blackwell card failure was recorded in 2025, compared to four Ada cards, though significantly more Ada cards were sold. However, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition, with its high 600W TBP, appears to be an outlier with lower reliability, though specific failure rates were not disclosed.
Motherboards
The Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E ICE stands out as exceptionally reliable, with zero failures reported from 100 units sold. Puget Systems also notes consistently low failure rates across the broader Gigabyte AORUS ELITE range.
The ASUS TUF B850M-PLUS WIFI also performs well, with only one failure reported. Puget Systems points out the TUF series has a history of reliability, with the ASUS TUF B760M-PLUS WIFI II earning top marks in 2024.
Memory
Puget Systems primarily sourced RAM from Kingston and Micron in 2025, resulting in a head-to-head comparison between the two manufacturers. Kingston emerges as the winner, with a failure rate of 0.19% compared to Micron’s 0.27%.
Breaking down Kingston’s performance further, SODIMM memory exhibited the highest failure rate at 0.55%, followed by RDIMM at 0.20%, and UDIMM for desktop PCs at 0.19% – the most reliable RAM type in 2025.
Storage
The Samsung 870 QVO 8TB SSD takes the top spot in storage reliability, with zero failures reported among units sold by Puget Systems in 2025. The company also notes a low overall failure rate of just 0.19% for the model since its introduction.
Kingston’s KC3000 NVMe SSDs also demonstrate excellent performance with a failure rate of 0.22%. Overall, Puget Systems reports a general SSD failure rate of 0.74%.
Power Supplies
Rounding out the report, Puget Systems primarily utilizes Super Flower LEADEX power supplies, which exhibit a failure rate of just 0.47%.
However, the company also highlighted the exceptional performance of Corsair SF1000 Platinum 1000W units. Faced with supply chain delays for SFX power supplies, Puget Systems temporarily sourced Corsair units, selling over 200 in 2025 without a single reported failure. While acknowledging these units are relatively new to the market, the initial reliability is considered remarkable.
