Which ROM to choose

[infinity2134]

I understand that there are a few to chose from but the part that is confusing to me is what is the difference between them all. Is it all just personal preference? What is the most common one? Can someone point me towards a comparison? Thanks in advance.

 

[ragnarokx]

Features and change logs are listed next to the download links of most ROMs. Tell us what you are looking for and perhaps we can make a suggestion.

 

[infinity2134]

Well what are the extremes? I know I would like one that helps extend the battery life and is more stable than others.

 

[Officerpolabear]

The ROMs also run on one build. Currently there are 6: DI18, DK28, EB13, EC05, 3D12, and EE03. And yes like Ragnarox said, tell us what you are looking for. Do you want something stable, quick, heavily themed, minimalistic, gingerbread?

 

[infinity2134]

I am new to this so something stable, quick, battery saving would be nice. Also what is the reference to gingerbread - I am new to this only 4 days with my Epic and I love it but so much to take in so fast.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

I am new to this so something stable, quick, battery saving would be nice. Also what is the reference to gingerbread - I am new to this only 4 days with my Epic and I love it but so much to take in so fast.

Gingerbread is a version of the OS. Currently, the official releases of Android on the Epic are Frozen Yogurt (Froyo). There have been 2 leaks of Gingerbread, a newer OS. No real features are added in Gingerbread, but it definitely has a different feel and look about it. Also, a security patch is built into gingerbread that isn't on Froyo. As far as stability, your mileage will vary. I personally felt that it didn't seem complete (hence, why it is a leak) and that it wasn't stable enough for me. I felt it ran slow and lagged really bad when trying to navigate through screens. I also noticed that internal space was a contributing factor with this. The more apps I had, the slower it felt.

My personal favorite would be this ROM. Its very AOSP-like while not actually being neither AOSP nor Gingerbread. Performance was great and I had no stability issues. This would be for someone who doesn't really like the TouchWiz look.

 

[infinity2134]

Ok now for another quick question. What is the difference between AOSP and TouchWiz? I know this has to be answered a bunch of times in here but I haven't found a simple answer yet.

 

[infinity2134]

Currently there are 6: DI18, DK28, EB13, EC05, 3D12, and EE03.

Also what are the numbers that were listed above? Are those the different kernels of the current Froyo release?

 

[infinity2134]

Ok so what are the differences between the major 3 that i see listed everywhere - Bonsai, Syndicate Frozen, and ACE?

 

[Paul627g]

Ok now for another quick question. What is the difference between AOSP and TouchWiz? I know this has to be answered a bunch of times in here but I haven't found a simple answer yet.

AOSP is pure vanilla Android OS. Touchwiz is Samsung's UI (user interface) add on over Android OS. Example, the launcher and a few other things...

Also what are the numbers that were listed above? Are those the different kernels of the current Froyo release?

DI18 = Eclair 2.1 the final Eclair version of OS that came with the Epic. There was I believe 3 build versions before this final version starting from Epic's original launch date.

DK28 = Froyo 2.2.1 (leaked build that never went official, leaked around Dec 3 of 2010)
EB13 = Froyo 2.2.1 (First official build/release of Froyo. Only lasted about a week or two before they pulled it due to problems.
EC05 = Froyo 2.2.1 (Second and final official build of Froyo, was released about a month after EB13)
ED12 = First leaked build of Gingerbread 2.2.3
EE03 = Second leaked build of Gingerbread 2.2.3
EE11 = Third build no leaked ROM
EE19 = Fourth build no leaked ROM, possibly the final build/official of Gingerbread.

Ok so what are the differences between the major 3 that i see listed everywhere - Bonsai, Syndicate Frozen, and ACE?

All are based on EC05 Froyo, most bloat removed and have the main important custom mods in place. All have CIQ removed (see Syndicate thread at XDA for more explanation on this). Bonsai and Syndicate are both riding on recent new releases/updates and ACE v2.0 was done about a month ago so there is a few updates its missing out on compared to Bonsai & Syndicate but still is a strong performer with overall good reviews from its users. Main difference is a mod here or there between them and Bonsai & Syndicate support their own custom kernels made specifically for their ROM.

Note: I'm going off memory on everything here so forgive me if I'm off a bit but everything should be pretty accurate.

 

[infinity2134]

Thank you for your help i think im going to try both Bonsai and Syndicate and see which one I like better. Is there a post that has all of the different themes in one place?

 

[Officerpolabear]

Thank you for your help i think im going to try both Bonsai and Syndicate and see which one I like better. Is there a post that has all of the different themes in one place?

Just go on the main page of the rooting and ROMs page for the epic, it should be in the top 5. Also, if you don't really like Samsung's UI elements, I think you would like Syndicate better...or you could try Paul's very own ACE ROM

 

[ragnarokx]

http://forum.androidcentral.com/epic-4g-rooting-roms-hacks/70672-index-froyo-ec05-roms-kernels-themes-other-mods-updated-5-28-a.html

 

[DubzEm]

I'm running ee03 right now just because I can stream Netflix... if ur new to rooting I would suggest going with ec05 it runs very smooth. My favorite rom for ec05 is syndicate frozen, for me it was the fastest and most stable. I also had the genocide kernel over clocked at 1.4 for super fast speeds. But every phone is different so if I were u I would try a rom for a week then flash another one and so on that's the only way you'll be able to find out what one works the best for u.

Sent from Frozen Epic 1.3

 

[fab5valentine]

What a time to compile a list of Epic 4G ROM's. Everything seems to be a bit crazy right now with new EC05 ROM's coming out everyday. Bonsai has a huge release, yet at a time when a lot of folks seem to be going to Gingerbread. I had great success with both versions of ACE ROM, had fun with Viper Rom Senergy 5.0, and finally started to go flash happy and finally downloaded ACS Frozen 1.1.1 thinking it would be the bomb on my phone, but for whatever reason it wasn't so much for me.. Dunno, ran fine just didn't seem all that.. On my device that is..No BASH intended. Ran over to Frankenstein EC05 and it rocked!! Ran great with Twilight Zone which I had previous problems with and the clean kernel was good too.. A bit slower without overclocking, but similar Quad scores due to not having to run SetCpu.. And that's based from Frozen 1.1.1.. So again go figure.

With my phone down this week I have time to ponder things that are happening now and slated for the near future. What I have come up with so far is; AndroidCentral really ROCKS! And I really mean it folks. This site is sooo helpful to the end user.. I can't even post in the dev section on some other forums. AC is full of the latest and greatest, and is REALY REALY there for support for the users. Why one ROM is just so so on my phone but can transform to something very unusable and a lot of fun, solid and stable, with just a little bit of info from the AC forums. Thanks!

I feel comfortable now flashing new ROMs and that I can get he most out of it with the help from AC, or a least be able to get out of any trouble I may get into.

Thanks AC for the deving and the deving help. In a world of confusion AC seems to sort it all out.. Thanks!

 

[mouseglider]

Features and change logs are listed next to the download links of most ROMs. Tell us what you are looking for and perhaps we can make a suggestion.

I am looking to speed up my phone a little while keeping it odexed and having a good reliable recovery system, with the least amount of no brainer file corruption problems - stay with cwm 2.5.1.0 and RFS? And if I can get better battery life - although I have very good battery now. I have already taken out all the bloateware that I need to and feel comfortable where it is at.

Bottom line, I want a little more zing and battery life ip possible - it must also be stable as a reliable daily driver as it is now. So what do you think? Rom or Kernal or both, which one? Or should I just leave it alone rather than try to eek out the last speed increase and possibly longer battery life at the cost of unstability? BTW, everything works perfect on my system now and couldn't be happier, well almost!

Thanks

 

[Paul627g]

I am looking to speed up my phone a little while keeping it odexed and having a good reliable recovery system, with the least amount of no brainer file corruption problems - stay with cwm 2.5.1.0 and RFS? And if I can get better battery life - although I have very good battery now. I have already taken out all the bloateware that I need to and feel comfortable where it is at.

Bottom line, I want a little more zing and battery life ip possible - it must also be stable as a reliable daily driver as it is now. So what do you think? Rom or Kernal or both, which one? Or should I just leave it alone rather than try to eek out the last speed increase and possibly longer battery life at the cost of unstability? BTW, everything works perfect on my system now and couldn't be happier, well almost!

Thanks

You could leave well enough alone if your happy and stable... or...

Honestly if I was to point someone new to ROMs, etc. to a good stable ROM, I would direct them straight to the new Bonsai 4.1.1. I ran the beta version for about 2 weeks and had 1 FC of my own doing otherwise solid as a rock and that was Beta mind you. Now its in full release and I've been on it for 2 days or so and it continues to carry the same tradition as the beta.

1. Its snappy, and speedy... Due to having its own custom kernel which I leave at complete stock settings.

2. Most bloat is removed to downsize it.

3. Has a battery mod and Zeam launcher and the clock removal in the status bar (if you touch the status bar it shows you the date/time so don't worry..) Otherwise its stock themed, do as you please from there.

I think its worth a look if your interested, I think you would be very happy. I would Odin to EC05 then use the Bonsai MasterKey ROOT and CWM/Recovery Tool to root/install CWM on your device (its literally a 1 click operation and a few minutes later your done). Then flash the Bonsai ROM already sitting on your sdcard when your done, naturally follow the Bonsai installation instructions and you will be fine.

 

[Majesty9917]

Glad someone made a thread like this. I too am having trouble deciding which way to go in regards to a custom rom. I was looking to flash a new rom shortly after purchasing my Epic however Froyo was close to release so I decided to wait it out until the Froyo roms were released. Well, now that it has gotten to this point, again it seems a new os version is on the horizon. That being said I have two main questions. Should I just wait it out for the inevitable GB roms? I'm not particualarly unhappy with the way my epic performs. If I do flash a rom now in the interim, which one? I really would be looking for stability first and foremost, as well as a little snappier response, better battery life and the better modem from the gb builds. Major thing for me is that I actually like TouchWiz and would like to keep it. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[mouseglider]

You could leave well enough alone if your happy and stable... or...

Honestly if I was to point someone new to ROMs, etc. to a good stable ROM, I would direct them straight to the new Bonsai 4.1.1. I ran the beta version for about 2 weeks and had 1 FC of my own doing otherwise solid as a rock and that was Beta mind you. Now its in full release and I've been on it for 2 days or so and it continues to carry the same tradition as the beta.

1. Its snappy, and speedy... Due to having its own custom kernel which I leave at complete stock settings.

2. Most bloat is removed to downsize it.

3. Has a battery mod and Zeam launcher and the clock removal in the status bar (if you touch the status bar it shows you the date/time so don't worry..) Otherwise its stock themed, do as you please from there.

I think its worth a look if your interested, I think you would be very happy. I would Odin to EC05 then use the Bonsai MasterKey ROOT and CWM/Recovery Tool to root/install CWM on your device (its literally a 1 click operation and a few minutes later your done). Then flash the Bonsai ROM already sitting on your sdcard when your done, naturally follow the Bonsai installation instructions and you will be fine.

Thanks Paul627g,

I was thinking of maybe staying with the stock odexed EC05 rom and just doing a kernel like Genocide v ?.? I am still confused which is the best and safest version. The reason being as that it is a very low level mod that would do the less harm to stability - or is that wrong thinking?

I really appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks Again!

 

[Possum15]

For anyone that hasn't tried the SuperNova Rom, I must say it's pretty sweet. Been running it for a couple of days now. I'm even using the TW launcher it comes with. I know it doesn't get a lot of press but give it a try.