War Thunder driver timeout on Radeon: RX 5000, RX 6000 and RX 9000 need opposite fixes

AMD has documented three separate War Thunder timeouts on three card generations, and the correct action on one is the wrong action on another. This step decides which of them you have.

Applies to: Radeon RX 5000, RX 6000, RX 7000 and RX 9000 series, Windows 10, Windows 11

1. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition and read your driver version on the Home or Settings > System tab. Note the full number, for example 26.9.2.
2. Note your card. RX 5000 series means RX 5300/5500/5600/5700 (and the M mobile variants). RX 6000 means RX 6400 through RX 6900. RX 9000 means cards such as the RX 9070 XT.
3. RX 5000 on 26.9.2: this is the issue AMD currently lists as open, and AMD's own advice is to install 26.9.1 instead. Go to that step below.
4. RX 6000 on anything earlier than 26.9.2: AMD fixed your variant in 26.9.2. Updating is the fix, not a gamble. AMD's wording ties it to DirectX 12 with Instant Replay and Borderless Region Capture enabled.
5. RX 9000 on 26.8.1: this is the one AMD never wrote down. Forum reports tie it to DirectX 12 on 26.8.1 and the thread's author reports 26.9.1 cleared it, so move forward to 26.9.1 or later rather than rolling back.
6. If your card is RX 7000, note that AMD lists a separate Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced timeout on that generation in 26.9.2 - a different game, and not this problem.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: AMD, AMD, AMD, Gaijin Entertainment, Microsoft, Microsoft

AMD's description of the RX 6000 variant names these two capture features, in DirectX 12, as the conditions under which the timeout appears. Switching them off is free and instantly reversible, so it is worth trying before you touch drivers.

Applies to: Radeon RX 6000 series in particular, Any Radeon card using Instant Replay or Borderless Region Capture

1. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition and go to the Record & Stream tab.
2. Turn Instant Replay off.
3. In the same area, turn Borderless Region Capture off.
4. Restart War Thunder and play a session long enough that you would normally have seen the timeout.
5. If that stops it, you have confirmed the trigger. You can leave them off, or update to 26.9.2 or later and turn them back on - AMD lists that variant as fixed there.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: AMD

Every variant of this fault names DirectX 12 - AMD's own wording for the RX 6000 case, and the player reports for RX 9000. If DirectX 11 is stable you can keep playing while you sort the driver out, and you have confirmed which code path is at fault.

Applies to: War Thunder on Windows, Radeon RX 5000, RX 6000 and RX 9000 series

1. In War Thunder's graphics options, find the Graphics API / Render setting and select DirectX 11. This is the route a Gaijin staff member gives on the official forum.
2. Apply the change and fully restart the game - a staff member notes the restart is required, not optional.
3. If the in-game setting will not take, open the War Thunder launcher's settings and select Render DX11 there instead, which the same staff member offers as an alternative.
4. Play a session. If the timeouts stop, the DirectX 12 path is where the fault is, which matches AMD's wording for the RX 6000 variant and the player reports for RX 9000.
5. Be aware this does not always stick. Several users on that same official forum thread report the game forcing DirectX 12 back regardless of the setting, one of them after a full reinstall. If that happens to you, this route is a dead end rather than evidence about your driver - move on to the driver steps below.
6. Treat it as a stopgap either way. DirectX 11 can cost you performance, so return to DirectX 12 once you are on a driver that fixes your variant.

Confirmed by the vendor, though some users report it does not help.

Source: AMD, Gaijin Entertainment, Gaijin Entertainment

For the RX 6000 variant this is AMD's published fix, not a guess. For RX 9000 on 26.8.1, the fix landed in 26.9.1 and 26.9.2 is later still.

Applies to: Radeon RX 6000 series, Radeon RX 9000 series

1. Download the current AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition release from AMD's own download page, or use the Check for Updates button inside Adrenalin.
2. Install it and restart when asked.
3. Open Adrenalin and confirm the version now reads 26.9.2 or later.
4. Launch War Thunder in DirectX 12 and play a long enough session to be sure. If you turned off Instant Replay or Borderless Region Capture earlier, you can turn them back on now and re-test.
5. Do not do this on an RX 5000 card. 26.9.2 is the release where AMD lists the RX 5000 timeout as an open issue, so updating is the wrong direction for that card.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: AMD, AMD, Gaijin Entertainment

This is AMD's own instruction for this card and this game: the 26.9.2 known-issues entry tells affected RX 5000 users to install 26.9.1. 26.9.1 carries no War Thunder entry at all.

Applies to: Radeon RX 5000 series (RX 5300, 5500, 5600, 5700 and mobile variants), Windows 10, Windows 11

1. Download AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.9.1 from AMD's own release-notes or downloads page before you remove anything.
2. Because this is a downgrade, use the AMD Cleanup Utility first - AMD states that when downgrading to a previous version of Adrenalin it is recommended to use it.
3. Run the cleanup utility, let it restart the machine, then install 26.9.1.
4. Open Adrenalin and confirm the version reads 26.9.1.
5. Launch War Thunder and test with a long session. If the timeouts continue on 26.9.1, your problem is not the issue AMD documented - see the section on when something else is wrong.
6. Check AMD's release notes before taking a later driver, so you do not land back on a release that still lists this issue for your card.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: AMD, AMD

Only if you are on an RX 9000 card, still timing out, and 26.9.1 or later has not helped. Several players on the official forum reported 26.7.1 stopped the timeouts on 26.8.1-era systems.

Applies to: Radeon RX 9000 series, Windows 10, Windows 11

1. Try 26.9.1 or later first. The forum thread's own author reported the problem gone on 26.9.1, and AMD fixed two other RX 9000 crashes in that release, so rolling this far back is rarely necessary now.
2. Download Adrenalin 26.7.1 before removing your current driver.
3. Run the AMD Cleanup Utility, as AMD recommends for any downgrade, and let it restart the machine.
4. Install 26.7.1 and confirm the version in Adrenalin.
5. Test with a long session in DirectX 12. If this is what it takes, note that you are several releases behind and should re-test each new driver.

Reported to work by 3 users; not confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Gaijin Entertainment, AMD, AMD