Free Windows 7 Themes...

Today I'm sharing with you free Windows 7 themes from Microsoft. There are a lot of themes you can use and it is easy to install.

• First, just download the theme you want to install 
• After downloading it, you go to the destination folder from your download and run the theme
• At this point, it should change the entire theme. Enjoy!

Here's the link from Microsoft:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/personalize


PcLoversTalk has decided to add this customizing theme segment for those users who had been using the free themes from Microsoft and are bored of it:

• Go to the start menu, and in your search field, key in explorer and press Enter
• The windows explorer window should appear and on the address bar, navigate to c:\Windows\Resources\Themes. You will need that in order to install the new customized themes.
• Now, go to the website that I posted below.
• Download the theme you want to install. 
• After downloading the file, go the destination folder from your download and unzip the file.
• There are bunch of files on that zip file, open the folder that says Themes.
• Now, copy those theme files inside the Theme folder and paste it on the address you've navigated earlier. c:\Windows\Resources\Themes
• Now go back to your desktop. Right click on it and select Personalize. That should bring you to the themes you've installed or other themes available.
• You can see there Installed Themes. This should be your newly added theme for that matter and all you need to do is to double click on it and you're done. Enjoy!

Here's the site for you guys to get the themes:
http://www.deviantart.com/#catpath=customization&order=24

Want a sample theme? Here it is:

Click here for the sample theme

An antivirus from Microsoft?

Yeah! You read it right. Microsoft Essentials which is the first legitimate antivirus from Microsoft that is for sure effective against different types of spywares and malwares according to different reviews. Anyway, just to give you a little background, this was released approximately 5 months ago which I think is not yet too late if I share it with you.
This is just a tiny little antivirus that won't eat up a lot of your space, it is compatible with Windows 7 so you got no problem there installing it and besides, it's got a 32 and 64-bit versions. One thing for sure that you will like about it is the fact that it is for free and I mean totally free. Here are the key features that Microsoft advertised.

Key Features

• Comprehensive malware protection
• Simple, free download
• Automatic updates
• Easy to use

So go ahead and try it yourself. Here's the link from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

New AMD 890GX chipset

It's been months since I was inactive, and now I will start my new year and my presence with this latest AMD chipset available as of the date of publishing. We will review this in a short while.

Here is the overview of the AMD 890GX chipset from AMD and after this I will place my comments below.

Feature	Function	Benefit
Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1	Hardware support for the latest 3D graphics features such as Shader Model 4.1.	Enjoy awesome gaming performance, stunning 3D visual effects, and dynamic interactivity.
Unified Video Decoder (UVD) 2	Dedicated hardware that decodes and plays back Blu-ray and other HD content with support for MPEG2, VC-1, and H.264 formats. 1,2	Supports latest HD features, helps improves image quality and frees up your CPU for other tasks for a seamless and visually stunning HD experience. 1,2
Hardware Picture-in-Picture	Support for dual-stream PiP (Picture in Picture), supported on Blu-ray™ 1.1 playback. 1,2	Enjoy the latest Blu-ray™ 1.1 titles with support for special “Bonus” features like Director’s commentary presented in PiP format. 1,2
High Quality Video Scaling	Uses post processing algorithms to enhance standard and low resolution videos and movies on your HD display. 1	Watch standard DVD movies in near high-definition quality. 1
Dynamic Contrast	Automatically adjusts the contrast and brightness during video scenes.	Delivers a consistently crisp and vibrant picture
ATI Stream Technology	A set of advanced hardware and software technologies that enable AMD graphics processors (GPU), working in concert with the system’s central processor (CPU), to accelerate many applications beyond just graphics. 3, 4	Enables better balanced platforms capable of running demanding computing tasks faster than ever. 3, 4
Accelerated Transcoding	Accelerates the conversion of standard and HD video into multiple formats for use on differing consumer electronics devices.	Offers incredible transcoding speed superior to the CPU alone.
ATI PowerPlay™	AMD graphics power management technology enables the graphics processor to respond to demand and power down when not needed. 4	Reduces system power draw, enabling a more energy efficient PC. 4
HDMI 1.3	A combined audio/video interface, HDMI 1.3 enables improvements in both audio and video capability. 3, 4	Connect to your HDTV and watch TV, Blu-ray and other HD video, with surround sound
DisplayPort	A digital display interface that supports the latest graphics and LCD technologies. 1, 4	Connect to ultra-high resolution monitors or full 1080p HDTV to enjoy premium video content. 1, 4
HyperTransport™ 3.0 Technology	HyperTransport™ 3.0 technology spec supports transfer rates of up to 20.6GB/s for high-performance I/O bandwidth.	Huge bandwidth can translate into fewer bottlenecks and higher performance
PCI Express® Generation 2.0	Double the bandwidth over earlier PCI Express for improved performance.	Massive I/O bandwidth for fast graphics performance
GPU-Plex Technology	Scalable twin-engine technology, all on a single chip, enables flexible configurations for multiple graphics cards on a single x16 link.	Designed to make ATI CrossFireX™ technology run smooth for an amazing graphics experience
ATI CrossFireX™ Technology	The ultimate in scalable graphics performance with a widely certified infrastructure and dedicated memories with improved memory performance.	Ultimate multi-GPU performance for game-dominating power
SATA 6Gbps	Support for next generation Hard Drives and SSDs supporting new SATA 6Gbps technologies	Fast file transfer and application performance
Gigabit Ethernet	High-speed network performance	Download and connect fast
AMD RAIDXpert	RAID setup utility useable from remote locations	Customize for extra performance or enhanced reliability.

For my comments:

• Let me start with the good points first. I can say that it is highly overclockable, one example of a motherboard that has this chipset is the ASUS M4A89GTS PRO (above). Judging on different reviews with this board, it has lots of options for overclocking on the board itself, and another thing, with good airflow and third party coolers then you can still push this by overclocking the BIOS hassle free. 
• It supports the latest USB 3.0 which can run up to 6Gbps as suppose to USB 2.0 which runs only at 3Gbps. 
• Another good thing about this, is having a crossfire with the new ATI HD5850 with it's integrated GPU the HD4290.
• It will also support the upcoming 6 cores from AMD this year.
• One thing though, is that it is cheaper than you think. I will give you the link from newegg.com later on the page.

So far, this three features are the ones I like with the 890GX chipset. For the downside:

• First thing, since it is the latest chipset to date, you must have the advantage of the latest DirectX 11 which it failed to consider.
• With regards to its integrated GPU, so far, based on other reviews i've read, only the HD5850 is supported in crossfire with it.

I think, that's about it. So if you plan to buy one,  I recommend this and go ahead, enjoy the power of the latest chipset technology from AMD. 

Here's the latest pricing from newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131631&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Motherboards%20-%20AMD-_-ASUS-_-13131631&AID=10440897&PID=3335429&SID=