[GUIDE] Unsure which rom to choose?

Before I begin, I'd like to give a MASSIVE thank you to @Neverendingxsin, who gave me the idea to create a thread like this, after reading his thread in the Verizon Galaxy S3 forums.
Also a big shout out to @xsenman who helped me get this thread up and running - without his help I don't think I could have got this thread started.

Android 6.0 - Marshmallow
Will we ever see Marshmallow land on the good old Galaxy S? Who knows... maybe a developer can work some real magic.

Android 5.0.2 and 5.1.1 - Lollipop
Back in June or July 2014, Google took the wraps off Android 5.0, nicknamed Lollipop. Lollipop is arguably the biggest update to Android since the Gingerbread -> ICS overhaul and brought with it a ton of new features and improvements. The biggest overhaul was the new Material Design UX language used across the entire system, providing an incredibly coherent and fluid experience with tons of eye-candy and animations. Dozens, even hundreds of smaller changes took place as well, such as how notifications were handled, status bar tinting, Smark Lock and so much more.

5.1.1 came at the start of 2015 and brought with it a lot of improvements over 5.0.2. Things such as improvements to Heads Up notifications and RAM management fixes made Lollipop just that little bit better.

Galaxy S 5.1.1 roms/kernels:

• ParanoidAndroid 5.1 (alpha)
• Omnirom 5.1
• Coderom
• Omni Kernel

Galaxy S Plus 5.1.1 roms/kernels:

• Cyanogenmod 12
• Resurrection RemixLP 5.5.5
• AOSP rom (alpha)
  InfinitiveOS

INTRODUCTION

I've frequented this forum for many, many years now and I've seen the same question being asked over and over again: "What rom should I choose?" The Galaxy S forum, even after 5 years, is still alive, and while the number of devs and roms has definitely decreased there are a select few devs still dedicated to developing for Samsung's 2010 flagship and its Plus sibling.

While I can't cover EVERY single user's wants and needs when selecting a rom, this thread is intended for users, both new and experienced, looking for a new or different rom to try.
So to start things off, just a quick definition of a rom by neverendingxsin:

Here's a very common question, what is a rom? A rom on our android phones is like the operating system on your computer, it controls the user interface, what you see and what you can do.

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DISCLAIMER: What you do after reading this thread is entirely in your hands. I am not to be held responsible if something goes horribly wrong with your phone - this is merely a guide to help you make a step.
By reading this thread and following through with your rom choice, you accept the above, and every other disclaimer relevant to your rom.

If you are new to this forum, I suggest you take a look at these brilliant guides written by other members, and give them thanks as well:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Android Recovery Toolkit
• Guide to flashing Gingerbread 2.3.6, then any custom rom
• How to downgrade from any custom rom
• TUTORIAL on how to unbrick, upgrade, flash and downgrade from Froyo to Kitkat

Also, for ongoing Kitkat discussion, take a look here: I9000 Kitkat Discussion and FAQ

Those threads will give you a good place to start, and all are very important if you want to have a safe and (mostly) error-free custom rom experience.

Every S Plus related section will begin in blue text like this.

So without further ado.

Chapter One: Stock roms

A bit of a refresher: the last official update for the Galaxy S was Gingerbread 2.3.6. This was the "Value Pack" which brought some Galaxy S2 features such as a new Swipe lockscreen, increased RAM, Face Unlock and a few other tidbits here and there.

The Galaxy S Plus is the same - it too, received a "Value Pack" containing the same features, based on Gingerbread 2.3.6.

All stock firmwares can be downloaded from Sammobile's firmware page. Type in I9000 or I9001 in the search box.

Section 1A - Stock, rooted roms



Section 1B - Modified stock roms



Chapter Two: AOSP roms

AOSP stands for Android Open Source Project, the name given to the whole Android project.

What you won't find in AOSP roms: Things such as the camera app, the contacts or messaging app, the music or video player, FM radio and 3G video calling from Touchwiz all won't be present, as these all depend on the frameworks used in Touchwiz.

Known issues in AOSP roms:

• It seems to be quite rare, but for some users the screen turns blue, right through to the recovery. For a solution, take a look at this thread written up by @need4steer.

Ever wanted the newest Android version, or want to feel like you own a Nexus? Keep on reading.
The format of this section will be a bit different than before, as there are literally TONS of custom AOSP roms out there.

Section 1 - Cyanogenmod



Section 1A - Cyanogenmod-based roms



Section 2 - AOKP (Android Open Kang Project)



Section 3 - Paranoid Android



Section 4 - Omni



Section 4A - Omni-derived roms



Section 5 - MIUI



Section 6 - Pure AOSP



Section 7 - Everything Else

Because there are just too many AOSP-based roms for me to list here, I've decided to list them in four "umbrella" groups that describe them best.

Section 7A - Function over form



Section 7B - Customiseable to no end



Section 7C - Finding a balance



Section 7D - UI-based goodness

Some users like the idea of creating an experience that replicates the newest version of Touchwiz like on the Galaxy S4/Note 3 or like the Xperia Z1's UI. These kinds of roms try to emulate an OEM's stock rom found on their devices, and has a themed system and even ported apps such as launchers and other unique apps, like Sony's Walkman. The aim, of course, is stability while emulating a completely different feel to AOSP Android.
Some examples include:

• Touchwiz Fusion Rom (based off CM11)
• Project Seaspray (Touchwiz UI) (4.3.1 and 4.1.2 versions are available in the same thread)
• RemICS-JB (4.1 and 4.0.4 versions are available)
• Cyber-SGS4
• Xperian UI
• Cyber-Xperia

S Plus users, here are a few for you:

• XOSP rom
• RemICS-JB

Is this for me? If you've always wanted a newer version of a UI or just want something different, these are for you.

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If you want me to add something, please let me know!

And while I'm usually not one to explicitly ask, if you found this thread useful/like this thread please use the Thanks button!

I hope that this thread helps in making it easier for users for selecting a rom that they want and like. Even helping one person is more than enough
Any feedback, please leave a comment

And, as a final disclaimer/warning:

Please DO NOT copypaste this into another forum and claim it as your work! I asked for permission to adapt this thread from the original OP and so if you do wish to have a thread like this in your forum, please ASK FOR PERMISSION.

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Unsure about your kernels and battery life as well?

Chaper Three: Kernels

Now we move onto the next part of the custom rom experience: kernels.

So let's have another definition, again from neverendingxsin...

What's a kernel?

Okay kernels are one of the biggest advantages to rooting. They can be used to increase performance vastly, increase your battery life, make your phone faster, increase ram, etc. You can modify the clock speeds using apps to overclock or underclock the cpu, you can increase or decrease the voltage, etc. They are also what makes your phone boot up...

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Kernels are essential to having a great custom rom experience because they are the very core of the Android system. No kernel? No can do.

What's important to note is that you must flash the right kernel. What do I mean by this?
For example, don't flash a kernel for Gingerbread on a Jelly Bean rom! All kinds of things can go wrong.

NOTE: A lot of roms come with the option of allowing Bigmem, short for "Bigger memory". Quite often there are questions as to what this does.
This increases the amount of ram available on the phone, but gradually breaks video recording and playback capability!

The reason for this is that in the system, some ram is reserved for video drivers, both in terms of recording and playback. Increasing the ram means that there is less space available for these and so the functionality is broken.

To give a general idea:
Stock 2.3.6 and the general CM kernel come with roughly 368MB of ram.
Some kernels and roms come with 392~398MB of ram, though they are patched to still allow for 720p recording.
Then there is an option for roughly 407MB of ram, though that breaks HD playback and 720p recording.
Then finally, if you really want that much ram, there is an option of roughly 439MB of RAM which breaks video capability entirely.

There isn't much else to talk about here; however, these are links to all actively updated kernels which are still being supported:

Kitkat 4.4.4

• Arrow Kernel (which I believe is bundled by default with Paranoid builds)
• Semaphore (Jelly Bean 4.3, 4.2 and 4.1, as well as ICS and Gingerbread builds are available as well)
• Mackay kernel (JB 4.3, 4.2 and 4.1 builds are available)
• Cyancore (JB 4.3 and 4.2 available as well)
• Stock CM11 kernel + Linaro 4.8 and Mackay TWRP
• GearKernel (Builds for JB 4.3, 4.2, 4.1 and ICS 4.0 are available as well and all versions are updated)
• NeatKernel (builds from 4.1.2 to. 4.4.2 are available in the thread)
• Neo
• Domnesu Kernel (supports all JB and Kitkat 4.4.4)

Gingerbread 2.3.6

• DMore kernel

Chapter Four: Battery life

This is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions in any forum, regardless of device: What's the best rom for battery life?

Before I delve into this further, I want to make something abundantly clear. Be realistic about your battery life. Don't expect miracles to occur on a three and a half year old device running software not optimised for one core, especially if you've got a battery that's just as old as your device. Yes, an option is buying an extended battery such as Powercell or Anker batteries, and there are ways of squeezing that extra bit of juice from your device, but even then, please, just be realistic about how much battery you can get.

And another disclaimer: Your mileage will vary no matter what.

So. here are a few ways you can improve your battery life...

Usage - it begins with you

This one is quite self-explanatory. How do you use your device? Are you a heavy web surfer, gamer and a video watcher? Or are you the kind of person who uses their phone only every so often? How you use your phone will obviously affect how the device's battery life goes. Some basic, but helpful tricks that others and myself have found to just get a bit more charge in:

• Turn down your brightness. The display is one of the leading causes of battery usage. When you're inside, chances are you won't need to have your brightness on max in order to read. In that case, turn the brightness down to something that's still comfortable for you. I've found that half brightness or quarter brightness works well for me.
• Turn Wifi and 3G off when you don't need them.
• Turn Auto-Sync off if you don't need it as much. Auto-sync will constantly run in the background every so often and so it may drain your battery, especially if you're syncing large amounts at a time. On Gingerbread, this option is found in Settings -> Accounts and Sync; on ICS and above, this option is found under Data Usage (press the menu key). Alternatively, under Settings -> Accounts and Sync (Gingerbread + ICS) or under your list of accounts (JB+) you can control which apps sync and which don't.
• Use apps like Greenify or even the stock application manager to disable apps running in the background, or at all. Memory-hungry apps such as Facebook tend to run in the background even after you've exited the app. Greenify can "hibernate" the app, meaning that it won't run in the background at all.

Rom choice

Some roms, especially those optimised for gaming performance (take a look at 6A in the post above), will have tweaks that optimise battery life. Usually this is more of a non-issue, but different roms will have different battery lives.

Kernel choice

Kernels are another direct influence on the battery life in many ways. The kernel will allow you to change how the phone behaves and performs using "profiles" known as governors. Some governors are based around performance while others, such as the common "conservative" or "powersave" governor, are intended for saving battery.
Alternatively, underclocking in an option - reducing the core's clock speed. This will sacrifice performance, but because the phone is simply not working as hard as it was before, more battery can be saved.
As well as this, kernels may have specific tweaks and options.

Coverage and signal

While its not something that can be easily changed, try not to have the phone in areas of poor reception, both with wifi and cellular reception. If the phone is constantly searching for an access point this will drain battery in the background. This is also more of a non-issue but does apply more to poor wifi signals.

Wakelocks

What are wakelocks? Essentially, they are apps, processes or services that prevent the phone entering a state called deep sleep. Deep sleeping preserves battery life, much in the same way that a computer left alone for some period of time will enter a sleep mode to conserve power. Wakelocks will keep the phone active, which will continue to use more battery.
Thankfully, apps on the Play Store such as betterbatterystats allow you to monitor any wakelocks present and often allow you to change the behaviour of it. Most of the time, wakelocks are caused by the phone syncing data back and forth.

Buy a new battery!

This one is probably one of the easiest ways to extend battery life - simply get a new battery. Extended batteries for the Galaxy S are relatively inexpensive and usually provide you with enough juice to last the day.

Chapter Five... For you gamers out there

Its probably one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to rom choice... What's the best rom/kernel/setup for gaming?

Let's review what we know about the Galaxy S.

• Android 2.3.6 officially, unofficial roms going up to Kitkat 4.4.4 available
• 480x800 resolution screen.
• 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor, single core.
• 512MB of RAM, in which a general amount of 368MB or 396MB is useable.

Also, for the S Plus users out there:

• Same Android 2.3.6, with unofficial support for 4.4.4
• Same 480x800 screen
• 1.4GHz Scorpion processor, single core
• Same 512MB RAM

In human terms, what does it all mean?
It means that the devices don't have killer specs. The S Plus is a little bit better off having a slightly stronger processor, but still, its important to understand that we are dealing with older devices here. Don't be too surprised if that new game doesn't run smoothly, if at all on the Galaxy S because chances are it won't. The Galaxy S' hardware is nigh upon 4 or 5 years old so don't expect smooth sailing at all with newer games, especially those that are graphics-intensive like Minion Rush or Asphalt (or anything by Gameloft really)

That being said, here are some ways to maximise gaming performance on the Galaxy S.

Step One - Choose the right rom

First off, you want to choose the right rom for gaming. If that's the case, take a look at section 6A in my first post, which lists a few roms for gaming and performance. To repeat myself, these games are optimised for gaming and so on by scripts or tweaks to the system as well as getting rid of apps that may be deemed unneccesary.

In that case you probably don't want a rom with too many features for customisation. These kinds of things do tend to slow the rom down and impact performance (except on roms such as Slim or Illusion).

ICS and Jelly Bean also feature something called hardware acceleration, where the processor is pushed to essentially smoothen things out. This can allow for some serious speed even out of the S/S+ with the right tweaking.

Gingerbread however has stability - the stock rom is really stable and a solid performer, whereas ICS and JB will allow for some pretty insane performance.

Kitkat, being somewhat easier on the system, should have some effect on gaming and performance in general. For more ongoing information about how Kitkat performs, make sure you follow this thread on Kitkat discussion by @xsenman.
EDIT: It seems Kitkat roms can be quite hit-and-miss for some users. Performance, both for gaming and for normal tasks, is reportedly best on ICS.

Step Two - Choose the right kernel

What's the point of trying to optimise the system for gaming if you don't have the right kernel?
Kernels allow for three things:

• Overclocking/underclocking. This changes the clock speed of the processor, and overclocking is probably going to be an option you'll want if you want gaming performance. Its simple, increase clock speed, increase power exerted by the processor/chipset. Warning though, the safe limit for the Galaxy S is around 1300~1400MHz. Anything higher than this will cause frequent crashes or bootloops.
• Overvolting/undervolting. This changes the voltage delievered to the chipset. Simply said, if you overvolt, in turn you overclock as the core is able to push more. Overvolting can be dangerous if not applied correctly - like overclocking, there are certain limits to overvolting. (If someone could give me values it'd be much appreciated)
• Bigmem. This increases the available RAM at the cost of video playback/recording. Refer to my post above to see what kinds of bigmem configurations you can have.

Semaphore is a kernel that is quite popular with gamers here - another one is Devil Kernel.

If you install a rom that's built for games, the kernel will already most likely be heavily optimised to deliver maximum performance (eg. Devil Kernel in Gamerzrom, Cyancore in CyanAOSP). However if you plan on installing this on another rom such as Cyanogenmod, custom kernels will allow you to finetune the above to your liking.
Use apps such as Semaphore Manager (guess which kernel that belongs to), Devil Tools (guess) or NSTools (generic application) or apps such as the built in Performance Control to customise and tweak to your heart's content.

Step Three - Check what's in the background

Apps running in the background are going to use RAM and processing power while you run your game, and even a minimal thing such as data syncing can have an impact on your games. Make it a habit to regularly swipe away apps from the Recents menu that you don't need, or use an app like Clean Master to ensure that your RAM is cleared out mostly for games. Little things can go a long way, and this is one of them.
It may also help to turn wifi off to stop auto-syncing going on in the background, as well as lengthening battery a bit.

More to come!
This part of the thread is still under construction, and as such I'm still in the process of collating more things to add here for gamers. This isn't the end!

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That wraps up my thread for now - I'm sure I'll keep adding to this as time goes by and more questions are raised
If you also found this part of the thread helpful, please press the Thanks button!

Changelog!

Changelog

10 October 2015, V4.4
-I've come back to touch up this thread after almost a year of inactivity in the S forums - I've added more links to Lollipop roms right at the very top

22 October 2015, V4.3
-Slight touching up of certain parts of the thread with new links, small bits of added info etc.
I have my own computer now so it'll be easier for me to update this thread where needed. I wrote this thread off a tablet and getting links isn't the easiest thing in the world on an old tablet..


8th March 2014, V4.2
-Current layout will stay as it is for now. It makes it easier on people using the XDA app/Tapatalk, and won't hang so much when loading this thread.
-As many links as I could find (without spending hours and hours just searching) have been added in for both S and S+ roms. S+ users now mostly have at least one or two links. Links for things such as SlimKat, Mackay ICS and Resurrection Remix have been added for S users.
-Neo kernel and NeatKernel have been added for S users in second post
-Changelog version numbers have been changed to mirror Android versions as closely as possible. (Some versions are missing/skipped to reflect the size of some changes in this thread) tell me if it's just too confusing and I'll stick with standard numbering

Note: At this stage I've added in as many links as I could to give both S and S+ users a reasonable selection of roms. Due to time commitments with life and schoolwork, I'm treating the first post as finished, and will not be updating links for at least some time. I will update the first part of this thread when the next version of Android (4.5? 5.0?) is released, or for formatting reasons to make this theead easier to navigate. The kernel/gaming post still needs finishing so that will be updated.

OLDER CHANGELOGS



To do list:
-Finish gaming section

xsenman said:

wow, great start ...would indeed be a very helpful guide for all in this forum, will link this here and adding a link to Custom ROM Comparison database would be an option that you can consider too

Check this out! Links to useful Guides and " Banned " Documentaries ​

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2482420

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Click to collapse

Thanks so much man, and I'll take a look into what you linked and see if I can get this on there.

freakymod2120 said:

Hey gratulation for the great work writing and create such a Guide !!!:good::good::good:

Because it is a great info-base for newbies and all the others, maybe you should think about asking the Mods to make this thread "sticky" so that it won`t get down from time to time ...

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Yup, I'll try get this thread stickied once I finish the whole guide

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freakymod2120 said:

If i can help you to support this, let me know ...

I think - as Robb Stark had written - it is a great guide for newbies, who want to flash a new ROM and get a general view ...:good:

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Click to collapse

Thank you - its very kind of you. I just need to finish up adding what I feel is neccesary and then I'll apply for a sticky.

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Thread updated again - I'm hoping to finish this before the end of next week

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freakymod2120 said:

Hey gratulation for the great work writing and create such a Guide !!!:good::good::good:

Because it is a great info-base for newbies and all the others, maybe you should think about asking the Mods to make this thread "sticky" so that it won`t get down from time to time ...

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Thread is now stickied

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tetakpatak said:

Excellent work, mate!

Compliments and multiply clicked "thanks" buttons from me
Now the amount of good souls of the i9000 Help threads is growing bigger!

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Click to collapse

Thanks, your thread is great stuff as well

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Thread updated again, its at a "final" stage for now, until I get back from overseas (where I'll have more time to continue updating this thread)

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