AMD phases out RX 5000/6000 drivers, cuts USB on RX 7900, but confirms Windows 10 support continues

AMD Shifts Gears: RX 5000 & 6000 Series Enter Extended Support, Windows 10 Driver Woes and USB Cutbacks Emerge

AMD has signaled a significant shift in its graphics card support strategy, effectively moving its popular Radeon RX 5000 and RX 6000 series GPUs into a legacy status. This transition means these once-powerful cards will no longer receive feature updates or game-specific optimizations. While critical security patches and bug fixes will continue, the cutting edge of AMD's software advancements, such as new optimizations for titles like 'Battlefield 6', will be exclusively reserved for the newer Radeon RX 7000 and the upcoming RX 9000 series.

This strategic pivot, detailed in AMD's confirmation to Tom's Hardware, positions the RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 architectures into a "maintenance mode." The company states this move is crucial to "focus on optimizing and delivering new and enhanced technologies for the latest graphics cards." Essentially, AMD is pruning its support tree to better nurture its latest technological blooms.

USB Functionality on RX 7900 Series Faces the Chop

Adding to the evolving landscape for AMD enthusiasts, owners of the Radeon RX 7900 XT and XTX models might find a peculiar feature missing. The latest driver updates are reported to disable the USB Type-C port's data transfer and charging capabilities. This effectively relegates the port to a mere DisplayPort connector, stripping away its versatility. This unexpected move is likely to disappoint users who anticipated broader functionality from their high-end cards, turning a multi-purpose port into a single-function one, akin to a fancy coffee mug that can only hold one type of beverage.

Windows 10 Support: A Tale of Clarification and Continued Access

Perhaps the most surprising development, initially causing a stir among tech reviewers, pertained to Windows 10. A review of AMD's updated documentation by Windows Latest revealed the omission of Windows 10 from the list of compatible operating systems for the new drivers. This sparked immediate concern, painting a picture of an impending cutoff.

However, AMD was quick to clarify the situation. In response to inquiries, the company assured that it is not abandoning Windows 10 users. While the mention of Windows 10 was indeed removed from the documentation, this is attributed to Microsoft's official end-of-support for the OS on October 14th. Crucially, AMD stated that the Adrenalin software and all other drivers will remain fully supported on Windows 10 for the foreseeable future. The situation, therefore, is less of an abrupt termination and more of a graceful, albeit initially confusing, phasing out of explicit listing, ensuring continued functionality for a vast user base.

A Glimmer of Innovation: Work Graphs for RX 9000 Emerge

Amidst these support adjustments and feature removals, the new driver release does bring some genuinely forward-looking advancements. Version 25.10.2 introduces DirectX 12 Work Graphs support for the upcoming Radeon RX 9000 series. This is a significant technological leap, empowering the GPU to manage its own workloads more autonomously, reducing reliance on the CPU – a concept analogous to giving a highly skilled foreman direct control over a construction crew rather than having them wait for constant instructions from a general manager. Currently, this feature is available on the RX 7000 series and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 30 cards, making its inclusion on the RX 9000 series a notable, albeit slightly delayed, addition.

Furthermore, the update addresses a substantial number of bugs and performance issues across a wide array of recent games. This makes the latest Adrenalin Edition driver a highly recommended update for owners of AMD's newer graphics cards, promising a smoother and more robust gaming experience.