Database Develop

Need help selecting ROM & OC Kernel

I apologize in advance for not researching this properly myself (in fact I'm usually doing stuff like this for other people), but I am simply overwhelmed by the plethora of information and unlimited posts of ROMs, OC kernels, and all that. I am no longer android retarded; That's for sure.
But I have a busy weekend here looking for an apartment and moving, and I just don't have the time (really) to sift through all this stuff! There's just too much! But in the meantime, the lag I am experiencing on the Hero is pissing me the **** off and I know it can be better, even "snappier" at 768.
I was hoping you guys would be able to give you opinion at the very least on this. I really wish you could just flash once and have everything set-up, but that would be too convenient. I would have to make sure the kernel doesn't break functionality, that the kernel actually works with the rom in the first place, flash the kernel, find a matching wifi module to match the damn kernel, flash the damn module... you get the picture.
So please guys, help me out here! I AM overwhelmed in every sense of the word, and I need your help.
1. Opinions on most stable ROM with most features.
2. Recs for an OC Kernel that will work with it!
3. The wifi module to go along with it.
4. Anything else I'm forgetting...
Thanks in advance and I apologize again for not doing it on my own. I just can't...lol.
_______________
May the time always be 4:20... wherever you are.

Word - subscribed. Just bought a Hero for my gf, trying to get it proper, but man, I used to do this with HTC WinMo phones, and this is the exact reason I went to iPhone platform - too much reading, maintenance, reflashing etc (read: TIME) to get the phone to work the way you want. So, I opted to just lose any choice or control over the matter and have a phone that works fine enough and has good app ecosystem
But, I want to get her phone at least fast and stable (most important), I think I'm throwing 2.1 with the .6 update, and will just downgrade to root in the future if we really need wifi tether.
If there is some good info in this thread on which ROM and which kernel with minimum hackish patches etc to make it all work, then I'll go to that! I'm hoping someone just finds a root exploit for .6 since it seems there are some good lag fixes in that update as well.

I'm hoping someone just finds a root exploit for .6 since it seems there are some good lag fixes in that update as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=703267

kwheel596 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=703267
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is the method to root on 2.1 .5 version and then install this ROM over the top (which keeps your root)?

yep, you got it

Wow..
So I finally got some time to do even minimal research and came across these:
ZenHeroFX 2.0 ROM
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731951
Darchstar's Kernels
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=705074
I wiped everything (including battery *whatever*), flashed the rom, flashed the 768MHZ kernel, flashed the % battery meter, and the 2.0 update for the ROM. I never expected it to boot the first time... BUT IT DID! Holy ****! Really?
Now, after setting frequency with SetCPU this thing flies! I cannot describe the difference. Holy ****-BALLS! Finally no lag at all, not even at the keyboard. And no overheating. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect flash!
DrunkenOstrich: This is the perfect setup for you! It worked the first try for me with no issues at all. Just follow the directions step-by-step and you will be good! Also, don't trip out on how long it takes to boot or if it's slow at first. Give it a few minutes to sync up and everything will be badass.
God I feel like such a noob after proofreading this post. lol.

wow... thanks
Ok... thank you so much for doing this. I am in the same boat as you as far as time to research everything goes. I had rooted my 1.5 hero last november and recently upgraded to 2.1. Just reverted to .5 so I could root but was totally lost as far as what ROM would keep me as close to stock as possible.
My goals were to find a ROM that allows me to 1)remove some bloatware, 2) overclock, 3) possibly wifi tether and 4) further improve battery life. I just didnt want to lose any functionality since I really love the hero. Only thing is since this upgrade, it's a slug. OP, Do you think using the ROM/Kernel pair you installed I'd be happy considering my goals?

there's one good way to find out. if you don't like it you can always do a nandroid.

theresthatguy said:
there's one good way to find out. if you don't like it you can always do a nandroid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed... going to root later on tonight and i'll try both... looking forward to no more lag and some fresh new changes to the UI

Thought I would get more of a performance boost... installed SetCPU and tweaked some settings and its a little better
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

Should I install froyo?

Hey guys. Just got a captivate a few days ago and I love it except for the gps. I was just wondering if the leaked build of froyo improves the gps at all and if its worth updating before they release the official one. If so, where can I find the latest version of the leaked build? Thank you for any help.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

The leaked Froyo does not necessarily improve on GPS because many people don't have issues where many people do. Give it a shot and search different methods of changing your LBStestmode settings to see what works. Second, for me it was worth installing as 2.2 offers stuff you cant have on 2.1 such as the newer Gmail, flash 10.1 and other goodies. It is faster as well. Search the threads in the Dev section for different ROM's and how to flash. Ask questions about flashing after doing exhaustive searching because you will be able to find most answers in those threads.

flashman2002 said:
The leaked Froyo does not necessarily improve on GPS because many people don't have issues where many people do. Give it a shot and search different methods of changing your LBStestmode settings to see what works. Second, for me it was worth installing as 2.2 offers stuff you cant have on 2.1 such as the newer Gmail, flash 10.1 and other goodies. It is faster as well. Search the threads in the Dev section for different ROM's and how to flash. Ask questions about flashing after doing exhaustive searching because you will be able to find most answers in those threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
x2...makes the phone 100x better.

Cognition 2.2 Beta 9.1.1
Grab this and never look back.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'm kinda on the fence about this as well. I should be getting my Captivate tomorrow and I have been doing a crap ton of research in the past few days. Everything I have read points to either the "Official Leaked Froyo 2.2" or the newest "Cognition v2.2 BETA9.1.1". My only concern is the known issues that are listed on the Cognition website...
MMS won't work if you have "(" or ")" in your phone numbers
Contact groups sometimes opens the wrong group, you can fix this by replacing it with an I9K contacts.apk, but then you lose AT&T contact syncing
No Voodoo voices, supercurio is working on this (first boot will take awhile, be patient!)
Everyone has the same device_id
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this true with both builds listed or just with the Cognition v2.2 BETA9.1.1? I'm also completely new to Android being that I am a fomer iPhone junkie. So any help, how-to's, or info would be appreciated. In all honesty I was going to start here, youtube.com/watch?v=S9YnSVvfHpQ and if that wasn't successful go ahead and try Cognition. I'm just the type of person that likes to have things working properly and fast, like everyone else.
And for those wondering why I have been a member for over two and a half years and this is my first post, I have usually been able to find what I need and not had to ask questions.

I would point out that DesignGears has a perfectly rockin' cognition for eclair too. My first flash was 2.1.4 and it was amazing compared to stock eclair.
nothing really helps the gps, you either got it good, or not. (much research into that opinion btw.)
Cog 8.1+ is the shiz atm.
There's a couple of other froyo flavors also. I wouldn't go back to eclair at this point.
If nothin' else, it's a crap ton of fun flashin' and figuring stuff out. I'd do it just for that.
Not sure on MMS. I had no problems with it, but my numbers were already formatted without the parenthesis.

The ability to do these type of things is what lead me to the Android platform over the iPhone OS, it's just too locked down even with it being jailbroken IMHO. I'm just basically looking for a point of refferance I suppose. Basically the things to do and not to do to the phone you know. For me it's more of a challenge because I'm learning something new. I don't know if it's because I'm not looking in the right places or what but it seems like step by step guides are hard to come by regarding this stuff.

unless you use the i9000 ROM with captivate kernel, all Captivate Froyo builds are based off the captivate beta of Froyo.
It had a enough bugs that i rolled back to 2.1. Don't get me wrong, it is stable - but I figure i will wait for a more bug free beta to be the basis of my Froyo jump.

mindbuRn said:
The ability to do these type of things is what lead me to the Android platform over the iPhone OS, it's just too locked down even with it being jailbroken IMHO. I'm just basically looking for a point of refferance I suppose. Basically the things to do and not to do to the phone you know. For me it's more of a challenge because I'm learning something new. I don't know if it's because I'm not looking in the right places or what but it seems like step by step guides are hard to come by regarding this stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so much. You just gotta be patient and diligent. There's a couple of gems laying around but they are usually in the middle of a thread. The cognition thread for example. It's a beast to keep up with but given time you can digest most of what you need there. And there are plenty of links throughout that will clarify or intimidate as your experience and skill allow. Trouble is there's a TON of junk because people get impatient, or lazy I guess. Same questions, over and over.
I came to the captivate from a blackberry. Not much customization goin' on there. So as a stone noob, I read the cognition thread from post 1. All of it. I am a pretty confident android operator now. And I can't read nor write a line of code. In any language!
And you can too. Get busy, Grasshopper.

If you live on campus or rely on some sort of enterprise WIFI then go to froyo. Using eclair I could NEVER connect to the wifi at my school. It would say that I was connected of course but no data would transfer.
I switched to Froyo and haven't had problems since.
Also, my GPS is rockin!

alphadog, what "bugs" did you have when using Froyo? And what you mentioned is a lot of where my confusion comes into play, "kernals and ROMs" are like greek to me and I have no idea what they are or what the difference is between the two.
Sulphur, thanks so much for the advice. I'm gonna go check out the Cognition thread now and see what I can dig up. That's really what I needed, just a starting point. I'm thinking as of now I will go with the latest Cognition build for a bit and see how that goes.
DirtyRasa, no campus here but I do rely on wi-fi pretty heavily. I use it at home all the time to cut down on charges to my bill for data usage, so that's good to know. Just curious though, are you using the leaked Froyo or the Cognition build? And if you have had both which one do you prefer?
cybercowboy, wasn't trying to jack your thread or anything but I was in search of the same info as well.

mindbuRn said:
And for those wondering why I have been a member for over two and a half years and this is my first post, I have usually been able to find what I need and not had to ask questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More power to you. I see tons of people on here less than a month with hundreds of posts more than me.
-->Back on topic. YES go with Froyo! There are many options available, but for noobs, i'd reccomend the either a DG ROM or the leaked and tweaked.

Thats no problem mindburn. The more information the better. I actually flashed to the leaked froyo last night and so far so good. Gps is still horrible. I think im gonna try the cognition build tonight and see what I like better. Ill let you know.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

cybercowboy372 said:
Thats no problem mindburn. The more information the better. I actually flashed to the leaked froyo last night and so far so good. Gps is still horrible. I think im gonna try the cognition build tonight and see what I like better. Ill let you know.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, almost sounds as though you are one step ahead of me actually. I get my phone tomorrow and I was going to actually try the leaked first and then cognition. Let me know how things turn out for you and I will in return do the same.

So I got the phone yesterday and let me say, when I got it out of the box I knew I was going to like it. This damn thing looks sexy as hell! Anyway, 10 minutes after I got it I had successfully upgraded to the leaked Froyo and rooted the phone. Everything is going fine and I haven't had any problems thus far. It is at times a little buggy but I have learned that if I kill some of the tasks, the speed seems to improve. I thought about try Cognition today but when I load it up, I've only got the odin.exe, PDA.tar, & PIT.pit. Do I have to have CSC & ETC file mentioned in the program as well? Also, what exactly are these things, I didn't have to do anything like this on the stock Froyo.

U should of done DG's AOSP beta 3! That's what I'm rocking and have had it for almost a month and its amazing! I wanted to use cognition but I read on ppl saying they had bugs or it just wasn't stable for them. But to each their own! Unfortunately when I last checked DG closed the thread on that ROM. Glad to know u got froyo going! I made the switch from an iPhone jailbroken to the captivate and it's amazing! I'm still new to android but u just gotta read everything and their r so many ppl who are willing to help!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

With the announcement of the official froyo coming out in about two weeks, i think i'll just stay where I'm at for right now. I don't wanna try and win the triathlon with only a week training.

mindbuRn said:
So I got the phone yesterday and let me say, when I got it out of the box I knew I was going to like it. This damn thing looks sexy as hell! Anyway, 10 minutes after I got it I had successfully upgraded to the leaked Froyo and rooted the phone. Everything is going fine and I haven't had any problems thus far. It is at times a little buggy but I have learned that if I kill some of the tasks, the speed seems to improve. I thought about try Cognition today but when I load it up, I've only got the odin.exe, PDA.tar, & PIT.pit. Do I have to have CSC & ETC file mentioned in the program as well? Also, what exactly are these things, I didn't have to do anything like this on the stock Froyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pda and pit file are all you need. he just put everything in those two files. Flashes just fine that way.

Just a quick update for everyone, I am now running the latest Cognition 2.2 BETA 9.1.3. And I *MOD EDIT* love it! This thing is super fast now, pretty amazing really. I also somewhat have my homescreens the way that I want them as well. Only questions to everyone now is what do you all run? What are your must have and go to applications? Like the best of the best kind of thing.
BTW Sulphur, thanks!

mindbuRn said:
Just a quick update for everyone, I am now running the latest Cognition 2.2 BETA 9.1.3. And I *MOD EDIT* love it! This thing is super fast now, pretty amazing really. I also somewhat have my homescreens the way that I want them as well. Only questions to everyone now is what do you all run? What are your must have and go to applications? Like the best of the best kind of thing.
BTW Sulphur, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear it and no problem. My must have's are Launcher Pro, Root Explorer, xda app, and silly as it sound, beautiful widgets. I dunno. Taste has no template.

[REQUEST] Darky's v6.0 Gingerbread Edition

I just installed the rom to my i9000 and it is really really fast... is there any possibility for this rom to run on my vibrant?

I hope so
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

DO NOT FLASH THAT TO YOUR VIBRANT!!!
I just helped a guy Odin back to stock cuz he flashed that to his Vibrant...wait until Vibrant Devs port it to the Vibrant

Porting I9000 roms onto the Vibrant isnt as easy and clear cut as it seems. Thats why Eugenes first 2.2 port was full of bugs

waiting..... i am very excited for this rom

The captivate has this rom too
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Its really pointless porting a 2.2.1 rom at this point. First, its honestly not much faster. Second, we're really close to have an official 2.2, maybe even gingerbread. We'll more than likely have gingerbread before anyone actually ports a fully working, bug free 2.2.1 rom based off i9000 code. You might get a VERY minor speed increase, but of course with the trade off of having tons of bugs. Not worth it in my opinion. Speed AND stability is the way to go. Not speed and bugs.

fearless1964 said:
DO NOT FLASH THAT TO YOUR VIBRANT!!!
I just helped a guy Odin back to stock cuz he flashed that to his Vibrant...wait until Vibrant Devs port it to the Vibrant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yess that guy was me. Fail, do not attempt.

fearless1964 said:
DO NOT FLASH THAT TO YOUR VIBRANT!!!
I just helped a guy Odin back to stock cuz he flashed that to his Vibrant...wait until Vibrant Devs port it to the Vibrant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just to be clear..nobody said to flash it to the vibrant, they asked to port it..

sombionix said:
Its really pointless porting a 2.2.1 rom at this point. First, its honestly not much faster. Second, we're really close to have an official 2.2, maybe even gingerbread. We'll more than likely have gingerbread before anyone actually ports a fully working, bug free 2.2.1 rom based off i9000 code. You might get a VERY minor speed increase, but of course with the trade off of having tons of bugs. Not worth it in my opinion. Speed AND stability is the way to go. Not speed and bugs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QFT
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

sombionix said:
Its really pointless porting a 2.2.1 rom at this point. First, its honestly not much faster. Second, we're really close to have an official 2.2, maybe even gingerbread. We'll more than likely have gingerbread before anyone actually ports a fully working, bug free 2.2.1 rom based off i9000 code. You might get a VERY minor speed increase, but of course with the trade off of having tons of bugs. Not worth it in my opinion. Speed AND stability is the way to go. Not speed and bugs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, and the only reason I brought Ragnarok to the point I did was because I had already started it. I did, however, learn a lot in the process. And I finally figured out how to fix the dang gps - even so, it is nowhere near a daily driver - more a curiosity.

This is true, if we have a ported 2.3 there is no point of having a 2.2.1
But I had in my i9000 a 2.2 ROM version and when switched to the one of Darky (2.2.1) I could see a real change in speed. (I had before Voodoo). Anyone could notice the snappiness of the phone!
It is pity, the devices have so small differences in hardware and it is so difficult to port ROMs. If you notice the Galaxy S forum is full of custom ROMs and mods, plenty of them. Aditionally long time ago there was unofficial and then official FroYo...
Waiting....The only reason I got the Vibrant is the AWS ... (and it still needs a mod for the FFC)

jellette said:
Exactly, and the only reason I brought Ragnarok to the point I did was because I had already started it. I did, however, learn a lot in the process. And I finally figured out how to fix the dang gps - even so, it is nowhere near a daily driver - more a curiosity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I had the same curiosity 2 weeks ago. I had 2.2.1 running on my phone. For the most part it ran fine, but would randomly get tossed into a bootloop. And when I say randomly, it was extremely random. There would be times my phone would run for hours, other times it would bootloop an hour after boot, 20 minutes after boot, or immediately after boot. lol.

sombionix said:
Yeah, I had the same curiosity 2 weeks ago. I had 2.2.1 running on my phone. For the most part it ran fine, but would randomly get tossed into a bootloop. And when I say randomly, it was extremely random. There would be times my phone would run for hours, other times it would bootloop an hour after boot, 20 minutes after boot, or immediately after boot. lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read the ragnarok thread there is a possibility that the boot loops are triggered by signal strength. Still, it would require capping the strength to stop it.

Ok so I am understanding (sorry still learning the lingo here and there), The I9000 2.2.1 is not that great but the 2.3 Gingerbread from the NS is possible to be ported to the Vibrant right?
If so then sombionix, may I suggest you dont bother your precious time with all these leaked releases (JL_x's) and only work on the 2.3 NS port. I have used a few of your roms and they are sweet, I can only imagine what it will be like with all the JIT patches in 2.3!

[Q] ROM Comparison

Is there somewhere with a Captivate ROM comparison? I've been away for a month and a half, and holy crap have things changed! I am soooo confused. Running Cog right now.

coldbeverage said:
Is there somewhere with a Captivate ROM comparison? I've been away for a month and a half, and holy crap have things changed! I am soooo confused. Running Cog right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Que the flaming. (should be in the Q&A section)
They change so often, that I think it would be hard for someone to maintain the tread on it. You pretty much need to do the research yourself on each ROM and decide which is best for you in performance, look, and battery life. (Thats what I do anyways) I like to try them all in order to get a feeling for them.

It has indeed been a busy month. Not sure where to direct you for an across the board comparison, but as for myself i've read a lot of threads and am presently completely content running perception 10.1 with dg's firebird 2 kernel and jk4 modem on my i896. Everything works, including hspa in both directions, gps gets a fast reliable lock, and battery is great. Planning to stick with this til there's a good stable gingerbread rom.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

tiuk said:
It has indeed been a busy month. Not sure where to direct you for an across the board comparison, but as for myself i've read a lot of threads and am presently completely content running perception 10.1 with dg's firebird 2 kernel and jk4 modem on my i896. Everything works, including hspa in both directions, gps gets a fast reliable lock, and battery is great. Planning to stick with this til there's a good stable gingerbread rom.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks gents. I knew I was going to get roasted for this.

coldbeverage said:
Thanks gents. I knew I was going to get roasted for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once in a while, it's worth the roasting in order to get something like this going. In an ideal world, it is a great idea. Would be a nice place to do "One stop shopping". Maybe some ambitious individual will take it on.

It all depends on what you want
I just started flashing, so I didn't know a lot about the roms either, the advice they give to just jump in an start flashing is the best, it's scary at first but I started thursday and I'm already on my third flash Just read the documentation and watch install videos, follow all the steps, don't be lazy and you'll be fine.
I really like the new roms based on the rogers firmware just coming out, everything seems to work perfectly, I picked a great time to start flashing
Cognition 3.01 is really good and a clean android experience, but no HSUPA or firebird kernel
I just flash firefly 1.0 and this rom is sweet, HSUPA, great gps so far, though it does have some themed aspects I don't like, but I'm more concerned about functionality than themes.
Good luck finding what works for you.

i was where u are at not too long ago, and i did tons of reading
This guy might help you a little tho, he just started a youtube channel comparing Captivate roms ---> http://www.mobiletechvideos.com/ROM_s_in_a_FLASH_REVIEWS.html

cool thanks

http://capfaq.com/w/ROM_Table

coldbeverage said:
Is there somewhere with a Captivate ROM comparison? I've been away for a month and a half, and holy crap have things changed! I am soooo confused. Running Cog right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I asked this a month ago and got flamed then my post got deleted. It was ridiculous.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

How is this development? Thread moved.
Also, threads about "which ROM is best" and "ROM features" tend to cause more trouble than they're worth, as we get the fanboi effect, and it turns into a flamewar. As such, they get closed to prevent trouble.
Look at the wiki, as that would be a good place to make a feature comparison. But remember that everyone's experience with a ROM is different. That's why you need to try it for yourself, and not just go by what someone else says
Oh, and remember to post in the right section next time, please.

[Q] My head is spinning - how to evaluate ROMs/kernels - wait for ICS?

First - Kudos to XDA and all of the amazing developers and contributors. I never believed in the concept of "too much of a good thing", but this place has me thinking that it might be possible.
I want fast and stable (unlike others looking for slow and unstable ). Due to the frequent releases and unimaginably long threads, I'm having trouble pinpointing the info that I need. Since the forum doesn't allow me to ask opinions, please provide guidance on how to find the data.
It does seem that there are several dependable choices and I can't go wrong by rolling the dice among them. Is that a fair statement? I only want to do this once, because I do not have the time or skills to evaluate and compare the installations.
And then there is ICS. The ROMs seem imminent. Anyone want to speculate on the ETA of a stable release? Would it make sense to wait?

I will get back to you later when I'm on my computer, reserved. ...
Sent from my I897 using xda premium

steveorg said:
First - Kudos to XDA and all of the amazing developers and contributors. I never believed in the concept of "too much of a good thing", but this place has me thinking that it might be possible.
I want fast and stable (unlike others looking for slow and unstable ). Due to the frequent releases and unimaginably long threads, I'm having trouble pinpointing the info that I need. Since the forum doesn't allow me to ask opinions, please provide guidance on how to find the data.
It does seem that there are several dependable choices and I can't go wrong by rolling the dice among them. Is that a fair statement? I only want to do this once, because I do not have the time or skills to evaluate and compare the installations.
And then there is ICS. The ROMs seem imminent. Anyone want to speculate on the ETA of a stable release? Would it make sense to wait?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depending on your needs, and what you're running now. There are some very good/stable GB releases, I personally like Mosaic 8 the most. Apex 10.1 is also very good. For something a little different, Miui is also very good. I suffer from somewhat poor battery life on Miui in comparison to Mosaic 8.
ICS is looking good, but there are some pretty major issues in the way right now, we really do need a kernel for our devices even though the i9000 works. There is no data(3g), and no Google calendar sync are the main issues for me. Obviously the dev's are working their butts off to get ICS going, and I dont like to speculate on timelines, because you just never know. Someone could crack the code today, or it could be weeks.

kangi26 said:
...I suffer from somewhat poor battery life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for mentioning battery life. That's a factor that I hadn't considered. I guess that I should expand my question to ask what are the factors that I should consider? So far I have three:
Stability
Speed
Battery life
---
If more are suggested, I'll add them to this post as they come in.
---
when pairing up a kernel and rom they must be the same android version (eg 2.2 2.3.3 or 2.3.5) build code (kk kj ) isnt important. (thanks TRusselo)
Do not reinstall apps that previously "fixed" issues like battery life, memory issues and GPS inadequacies because they may introduce instability, which sometimes may persist after the app is uninstalled.
Flashing is quick and easy. TiBU restores, settings tweaks and home app set-up is time consuming. Accordingly, kick a few tires to help decide which ROM works best for you.

well all the gingerbread roms are "stable". ( froyo too obviously)
many things can affect speed and battery- kernel, your apps, your habbits.
if trying a froyo first before "movin on up" MUST TRY firefly 3.0 with onix kernel. battery life worth drooling over! and many themes available for it.
gingerbread, many great roms.
when it comes to kernels, lately ive been seeing alot of "highly tweaked" kernels (eg red nebula) that well, just seems like over-kill (especially without kernel source) and to a new user is kinda "head spinning" stick with something simple and close to stock to start. samurai is a good place to start, or boogs kernels...
when pairing up a kernel and rom they must be the same android version (eg 2.2 2.3.3 or 2.3.5) build code (kk kj ) isnt important.

TRusselo said:
...many things can affect speed and battery- kernel, your apps, your habbits...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume that apps that run in the background or are processor intensive will be slower and consume more power. Is there any info to determine which ROMs or kernels are better with those kind of apps?
TRusselo said:
when it comes to kernels, lately ive been seeing alot of "highly tweaked" kernels (eg red nebula) that well, just seems like over-kill (especially without kernel source) and to a new user is kinda "head spinning" stick with something simple and close to stock to start. samurai is a good place to start, or boogs kernels...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the kernel source an issue for someone that is not a developer? How?
TRusselo said:
when pairing up a kernel and rom they must be the same android version (eg 2.2 2.3.3 or 2.3.5) build code (kk kj ) isnt important.
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Click to collapse
I'll add that to the list above. Thanks, and thanks for all of your info.

steveorg said:
I assume that apps that run in the background or are processor intensive will be slower and consume more power. Is there any info to determine which ROMs or kernels are better with those kind of apps?
Is the kernel source an issue for someone that is not a developer? How?
I'll add that to the list above. Thanks, and thanks for all of your info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of those issues will be determined by the apps you run, not so much the kernel you run.
On Mosaic, I have very good performance with Talon, and Semaphore
Sent from a autonomous device

While going through the excellent XDA and Android Terms and Acronyms, I came across the definition for No-Wipe Package:
NO-WIPE PACKAGE: A rom update package that leaves the user's market apps intact while still performing the updates to the system files. Restoring from backup is not necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that seem like a strong reason to use a package. Does anyone know which ROMs come with a No-Wipe Package?
However, is there any advantage to clean installs through backup/restore? Can a No-Wipe Package be used when going from Froyo to Gingerbread?

No wipe packages are usually for one ROM, when some stuff has changed but not the firmware version or anything super major.
Most roms are wipe packages, titanium backup pro comes in real handy, menu> batch> restore missing apps. And walk away til its done.

steveorg said:
And then there is ICS. The ROMs seem imminent... Would it make sense to wait?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too was wondering about this.
I'm on FireFly 3.0 and was thinking of going to Dlev 4.2.
I don't like flashing roms because it takes to long to get the phone back to my config. I prefer to flash and stick with it for some time.
Should I/we stick with a GB rom or wait for ICS?
Is there anything mind blowing in ICS that will change our world as we know it?

geeksquad2 said:
Should I/we stick with a GB rom or wait for ICS?
Is there anything mind blowing in ICS that will change our world as we know it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look, too say ICS is "imminent" is just an overstatement..........if you have not done anything to oyour phone, or have little experience, ICS maybe a step too far ahead.
If you want to go straight to Gingerbread, that may more understandable.
In my OPINION, Apex 10.1 (a i9000 ROM) or Pinnacle 1.2 (a SGH-1987 ROM) are great top-of-the-line ROMs, especially because watsa includes his own ODIN packages and they are ready to go. A no-brainer for most folks. The instructions and packages are a big plus.

Now that I'm done
The upgrade was a much more painful experience than expected, but well worth the outcome.
I wanted to do it once, and I succeeded if you redefine "once" as 5 ROM flashes with full TiBU restores, settings tweaks and home app (GO Launcher) set-up. I also performed several other ROM and Kernel flashes where I just briefly checked out the look and feel and how well a few features worked. Surprisingly, basic apps such as the Market could be problematic. Even more surprisingly, the same ROM could perform differently when reflashed.
I suspect that is partly because I had a very sick cappy. Some of my problems were caused by too many app fixes that caused their own problems. One of the reasons for the multiple flashes with TiBu restores was to isolate the trouble makers while the rest of my apps were installed. In the end, I removed every app that "fixed" issues like battery life, memory issues and GPS inadequacies. Now that I know better, I think of these apps as personal bloat ware that should not be installed with any new ROM or kernel until you've had a chance to understand if you have problems requiring a fix. Sometimes, even installing and then uninstalling seems to create permanent problems.
I also learned not to be intimidated by flashing. It's an easy to understand and quick process. The key is to check out the ROM before the hard part - TiBu restores and customizing the settings.
BTW - The winner was (drum roll please ) - Illuminance 2.1.1. It has several SGSII features (new Swype is nice), seems fast, doubled my battery life and has been stable. I compared it to a friend's brand-spanking new AT&T SGS II and my reborn cappy held up. For example, the SGSII was a a bit faster on loading Google Maps, getting a fix and loading a traffic overlay, but not so much that there was a functional difference.
I actually flashed Illuminance 3 times - once just to kick the tires. I removed it once because my bloat created instability and caused the Market not to work. The only minor issue I have left is GPS optimization. The GPS works well (previously was often useless and very slow), but from reading this forum I believe it could be snappier and more accurate.
I added some of these observations to my second post on this thread.

Personally, I'd say just flash MIUI and then wait for the ICS port to become stable enough to be used as a daily driver without any major setbacks. But only because that's what I'm doing
The main attraction of MIUI is its huge degree of customization. You can customize everything from the battery icon to the framework itself without ever having to reboot your phone. You just find a theme you like and apply it.
The only downside of it is the battery life. While in use, it's the same as any other Samsung/CM7-based ROM, but it usually drains at ~5% per hour when in standby. Of course this can be kept at around ~2% an hour if you keep wifi/data/sync turned off (personal experience, ymmv).
... The more you know
Herp derp Captivate XDA Premium.

chappatti said:
Look, too say ICS is "imminent" is just an overstatement..........if you have not done anything to oyour phone, or have little experience, ICS maybe a step too far ahead.
If you want to go straight to Gingerbread, that may more understandable.
In my OPINION, Apex 10.1 (a i9000 ROM) or Pinnacle 1.2 (a SGH-1987 ROM) are great top-of-the-line ROMs, especially because watsa includes his own ODIN packages and they are ready to go. A no-brainer for most folks. The instructions and packages are a big plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so I spent a week or so reading up, and finally this afternoon, I flashed over to Pinnacle v1.2. I noticed that there was a v1.3, but I didn't get it.
It worked like a charm! I was done in under an hour. Thanks for your advice!

i would add that if you are getting into flashing a lot of different roms, its worth getting the paid version of Titanium Backup because it can restore all of your apps and settings in one step, rather than with the free version, where you have to click "install" for each one as the batch process happens. it will literally save you hours for all of maybe $6

If you really don't want to lose anything and you're getting into flashing it might be worth your money to invest in mybackup pro ontop of titanium backup pro.
It will restore call logs, sms, mms, specific app settings (like if you use a market keyboard), plus alot more. Its definitely worth it, you can restore nearly everything between after switching roms to a new daily driver.
Flashing is a disease so don't be surprised when you get the urge to look up whats new in a couple weeks and wanna try the different ICS roms and such, make all the backup software extremely important.

geeksquad2 said:
I too was wondering about this.
I'm on FireFly 3.0 and was thinking of going to Dlev 4.2.
I don't like flashing roms because it takes to long to get the phone back to my config. I prefer to flash and stick with it for some time.
Should I/we stick with a GB rom or wait for ICS?
Is there anything mind blowing in ICS that will change our world as we know it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No...not really (on Beta 2 ics)...its just cool
I would update though.....really stable.

There is not a true beta 2 ICS for the Captivate, ytt3r hasn't done it yet.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

b-eock said:
There is not a true beta 2 ICS for the Captivate, ytt3r hasn't done it yet.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the i9000 build with a custom captivate kernel....works the same as it would if it were a i897 rom.

Dude I know what it is... But there isn't a beta 2 kernel for the captivate yet...
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium