For five months or more, the Spotify software on Windows, Mac, and Linux has been writing a gigantic amount of data to storage devices, potentially taking years off their lifespan. Tens, hundreds, or even thousands of gigabytes written within an hour have been reported, and occur when the software is idle and is not storing any songs locally.

The problem -- which was reproduced easily by Ars Technica -- is said to be tied to one or more database files with the Mercury.db string. It is of course particularly burdensome to solid state drives (SSDs), which have limited write capacity.

"We've seen some questions in our community around the amount of written data using the Spotify client on desktop," a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement. "These have been reviewed and any potential concerns have now been addressed in version 1.0.42, currently rolling out to all users."

It's a hard life if you're an AMD user and like to stream and record. Whereas NVIDIA users enjoy the sleek, performance-light, and feature-rich Shadowplay, there's really nothing as good for the other camp.

The gap narrows somewhat today though as Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Studio (the new and improved version of OBS) gains support for AMD's Video Coding Engine (VCE). Essentially, this means fast, high-quality recording and streaming, in contrast to Windows Media Foundation offered, particularly at 1080p and 60 FPS.

VCE support has been in testing for awhile now and today marks the first stable release. To download it, hit the source link below, or if you're in no hurry, wait until the next OBS Studio release with which it will be bundled.

A new beta update to the Steam client has at last fixed the bitrate issues plaguing in-home streaming users with AMD hardware. User reports indicate all is indeed well now -- welcome news given it's been nearly a year since the problem started.

To get started with in-home streaming, navigate to Big picture mode > Settings > In-home streaming > Advanced host options.

Also included in the update: improved local file validation performance, particularly for HDDs, and a fix for the black screen issue observed when streaming Duelyst or They Bleed Pixels.

One of the issues with PC gaming these days is having multiple game libraries across multiple services. While many attempts have been made at creating all-in-one frontend solutions, you might say they've all fallen short. The newly launched GameRoom, however, looks to be the best of the bunch so far with a sleek interface similar to Origin prior to its recent overhaul.

Feature-wise, it includes automatic import, sorting, support for command line arguments, a power saving mode, a play time tracker, and more.

The downside: it requires Java, which has been swiftly going the way of the dodo. If that doesn't dissuade you, download GameRoom here.

Crytek's newly published roadmap for CryEngine reveals big features are not far off at all.

First is DirectX 12 multi-GPU support, a complete DirectX 12 renderer, the possibility of support for NVIDIA's PhysX, and more. All of these are labeled for version 5.2, due out any day now.

Version 5.3, meanwhile, will introduce the increasingly popular Vulkan API. Developed as a spin-off of AMD's Mantle, it serves as another low-overhead solution that's been shown to majorly increase performance in games. 5.3 is planned for mid-October.

EA's Origin digital distribution client is receiving an overhaul. Currently available to test in beta form, it boasts a softer, sleeker look over the current client, which, while nice, doesn't come off quite as professional.

The new design isn't just for aesthetic purposes, either; it's more functional, too. The store and library are more natural to navigate between, download progress is now more readily displayed, and the store is much more intuitive to browse, among other changes.

If you want to get it on it early, go to Origin > Application Settings > General. Then, check "Update to beta version when available" and reboot the client.

NVIDIA has just released its new GeForce 368.81 WHQL drivers, which are Game Ready for a bunch of new VR titles that NVIDIA has just released - including VR Funhouse. You can download the new GeForce 368.81 WHQL drivers here.

There's also support for Everest VR, Obduction (from the makers of Myst), Raw Data, and The Assembly. As for the changelog on NVIDIA's new GeForce 368.81 WHQL drivers, here's what you'll need to know:

Game Ready

• Provides the optimal experience for new and upcoming Virtual Reality titles including NVIDIA VR Funhouse, Everest VR, Obduction, Raw Data, and The Assembly.

New Features

Ansel Support

• Supports the new Ansel technology now available in Mirror's Edge Catalyst, which allows you to compose your shots from any angle, capture in 2D, 360°, and adjust with post-process filters.

Virtual Reality

• VR Ready GeForce GTX 1080, 1070, and 980 Ti customers can download NVIDIA VR Funhouse from Steam today.

Application SLI Profiles

• Added or updated the following SLI profiles:
• -Obduction - disabled SLI

3D Vision Profiles

• Added or updated the following 3DV profiles:
• -Obduction - not recommended

Windows 10 Fixed Issues

GPU Boost not applied to VR games. [1778552]

• Vive does not work with mini-DisplayPort on the Link Box. [200217901]
• [ArcheAge] The GameGuard module crashes in nvinit.dll when CreateProcess() is called with parameters greater than 260 bytes. [200210594]
• [GeForce GTX 970M] NVIDIA reference driver support requested for GIGABYTE P55Wv5. [1783058]
• [GP104] Corruption seen when booting on DVI at or above a 330 MHz pixel clock and an 80 Hz refresh rate. [1782521]
• [365.10] Tearing occurs in windowed applications after an update to Release 364.xx drivers. [1763731]

Windows 8.1/Windows 8/Windows 7 Fixed Issues

• [ArcheAge] The GameGuard module crashes in nvinit.dll when CreateProcess() is called with parameters greater than 260 bytes. [200210594]

NVIDIA users can test drive a new version of GeForce Experience today, which brings a brand new interface, ShadowPlay improvements, and more.

The new look takes inspiration from digital distribution platforms like Netflix and Origin and is said to be much faster. It also features gaming tech news from NVIDIA itself.

As for ShadowPlay, features new and old include 60FPS and 4K recording, fullscreen and windowed mode recording, YouTube uploading, livestreaming support, and game joining via Chrome.

Lastly, accounts sign-on (via Google or NVIDIA) means you're automatically signed up for game and hardware giveaways, beta access to games, and more.

The latest version of GPU-Z is here, with v0.8.9 including support for AMD's upcoming Polaris-based video cards. It also supports the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, as well as support for reading the values on your overclocked GTX 1070/1080s.

Here's the full skinny on GPU-Z v0.8.9:

• Added AMD Polaris support
• Added support for GeForce GTX 1070
• Added support for reading overclock on GeForce GTX 1070/1080
• Added BIOS reading for GeForce GTX 1070/1080
• Added support for NVIDIA Quadro M2000
• Added support for AMD E8860
• Fixed memory monitoring sometimes resetting beyond 4 GB usage
• Fixed double default memory clock on GT220/240
• Fixed double memory clock on GTxxx cards with GDDR5X
• Fixed typo in BIOS saving dialog
• Fixed no GPU selected in dropdown in some rare cases

The latest nightly build for popular catch-all media player VLC bakes in Chromecast support. A long anticipated feature, it enables users to view virtually any kind of video content, live or recorded, on their TV. While such functionality has been possible through other avenues, none are as convenient as what VLC offers.

Head here for the latest nightly builds. The Chromecast-enabled version (3.0) may not be ready until later tonight (June 10/11), so keep checking back if necessary. Or if you're not the early release type, take this as news that public Chromecast support is not far away.