[Q] A couple of newbie Evo questions (Sorry!)

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I bought an Evo yesterday and when I did I did not expect there to be so much dev support for it (seriously, I'm coming from a G2 and a MyTouch Slide on T-Mobile, your development section is overwhelming!). Don't get me wrong, I'm a happy guy, but I've been reading that there's differences between "old" evos and "new" evos and I don't want to screw anything up my second day owning this amazing phone.

So, here's me questions.
1. Is there a best root method? I see some that require adb, which I can use if I have to and the unrevoked method which seems a whole lot more simple.

2. What is the best rom/kernal combos for performance and battery life? I know, people like what they like and this will be all opinion, so I don't expect there to be one big answer.

Thanks for any help. This phone is ridiculously awesome and I can't wait to play more with it.
Also, if it helps:

Android
2.2

Baseband
2.15.00.11.19

Kernel
2.6.32.17-gee557fd
htc-kernel@and18-2 #15

Build Number
3.70.651.1 CL294884 release-keys

Software Number
3.70.651.1

PRI
1.90_003

PRL
60674

Originally Posted by AbsolutZeroGI

I bought an Evo yesterday and when I did I did not expect there to be so much dev support for it (seriously, I'm coming from a G2 and a MyTouch Slide on T-Mobile, your development section is overwhelming!). Don't get me wrong, I'm a happy guy, but I've been reading that there's differences between "old" evos and "new" evos and I don't want to screw anything up my second day owning this amazing phone.

So, here's me questions.
1. Is there a best root method? I see some that require adb, which I can use if I have to and the unrevoked method which seems a whole lot more simple.
Unrevoked is going to be easier and less involved then adb if you don't feel comfortable.

2. What is the best rom/kernal combos for performance and battery life? I know, people like what they like and this will be all opinion, so I don't expect there to be one big answer.
I am a fan of AOSP roms as they don't contain as much 'bloat' and i experience better battery life. That being said there are a few sense roms that I had an awesome experience with the most recent being Frost ROM

Thanks for any help. This phone is ridiculously awesome and I can't wait to play more with it.
Also, if it helps:

Android
2.2

Baseband
2.15.00.11.19

Kernel
2.6.32.17-gee557fd
htc-kernel@and18-2 #15

Build Number
3.70.651.1 CL294884 release-keys

Software Number
3.70.651.1

PRI
1.90_003

PRL
60674

I gave my opinions in bold above.

It will help others if you give them the hardware version you are running as well

Originally Posted by M@XLOL

I gave my opinions in bold above.

It will help others if you give them the hardware version you are running as well

I saw someone saying Frost ROM was pretty good in another thread, that with CM, MIUI and Myn are the 4 roms I'm going to try first. I'm more concerned with kernals/radios that play nicely with them, though. I've gotten 8 hours out of my battery so far (unplugged at 11am, it's 7:18pm here and my battery is at 46%) so I think that with a good ROM/kernal/radio/etc combo I won't have to spend money on a larger battery.

Hardware version
0004

(and while I'm screwing around)
radio
2.15.00.11.19

what's the difference between hardware versions? is it the same hardware, just manufactured more recently or are there tangible updates?

Also, you say unrevoked is the best way to root, but the guide in the general section says I can't use it with hboot 2.04 or 2.10...well I have 2.10.0001 so I guess it's adb for me lol.

Some late hardware 3 and hardware 4 have a different camera chip. I believe this is the only difference.
So that makes some kernals not play nice but most recent ones have wrapped up that wailing issue

Swyped from a galaxy far far away......

Originally Posted by Jimdog420

Some late hardware 3 and hardware 4 have a different camera chip. I believe this is the only difference.
So that makes some kernals not play nice but most recent ones have wrapped up that wailing issue

Swyped from a galaxy far far away......

So before I root, I should find a kernal and ROM that work well with 4 hardware? Shouldn't be too hard, right? lol.

You can root whenever you want, and you can switch ROMs all you want (you just have to setup your phone again every time). You can even try different kernels whenever, but you really need to run them for a few days to get a feel for how they work.

I personally use VaelPak because it's Sense-compatible but has all the Sense stuff stripped out, and it's really fast and smooth. I've had zero problems with it. I used to use KingX's kernel (#11 BFS mostly) and it gave me fantastic battery life, but I also lucked out and got a phone that has always had good battery life even out of the box. It could also be partly my usage habits, and yours will make a difference for you as well. I just switched to Netarchy's 4.1.9.1 with SBC because it was recommended with the new version of VaelPak, but I'm not so sure I want the SBC thing. The whole trickle charging issue is still a bit fuzzy, and exploding phones aren't my cup of tea.

You're going to get all sorts of recommendations for ROMs and kernels, because it's really different for everybody. Sometimes one phone will behave differently than another even with the same ROM and kernel. Sometimes even the same hardware version. Just try some out.

Maybe a dichotomous key would help: Do you like/want Sense? If yes, focus on Myn's, MikFroyo, Fresh, or the other current and actively-developed Sense ROMs. If no, check out VaelPak or, if you want an actual AOSP experience, CM6 or Evervolv. And so forth.

As for kernels, find a ROM you like and then browse through the threads to see what people are liking for that ROM. If you don't like one, try another one until you do. Battery life takes a while to really gauge, especially if you don't wipe your battery stats and recalibrate every once in a while.

As far as I know all of that is generally accurate. And one more thing: ALWAYS HAVE A NANDROID BACKUP!!! Safety first.