Develop Bugs

Stock vs custom: huge dilema.

I cant decide on whether or not I want to load a custom rom on this phone!
I know this is XDA and everyone will say GO CUTSOM of course, but this is the first device I actually havent considered it. I feel like with every android phone Ive owned
And the hundreds of ROMs Ive used, Ive always experienced negatives that have come along with the positives that a custom ROM brings.
For example ill load up a ROM and it will come with the "best" kernel available, which turns out to cause 69% Android OS drain by the end of the day. Or from searching around here the custom ROM will cause shutter lag or other snall annoying things that I wouldnt be able to tolerate. I just dont know if the trade off is worth it this time as stock ICS works wonderfly for me.
I am however very interested in the 4.0.3 ROMs (even though I have no clue what 4.0.3 offers over 4.0.2) and the best kernel (lean) overclocks, undervolts, AND OC the gpu which i think are all awesome benefits.
Then I go search around about lean and find out that some people are experiencing lag.... Its like why go through all the trouble if im going to get 5 benefits as well as 4 negatives? AND cant get OTA.
Im just wondering if there is anyone out there (not you flashaholics) that feel it is better to stay stock this time around to live in peace so to say lol Your thoughts would be appreciated.

stupidslow02gt said:
I cant decide on whether or not I want to load a custom rom on this phone!
I know this is XDA and everyone will say GO CUTSOM of course, but this is the first device I actually havent considered it. I feel like with every android phone Ive owned
And the hundreds of ROMs Ive used, Ive always experienced negatives that have come along with the positives that a custom ROM brings.
For example ill load up a ROM and it will come with the "best" kernel available, which turns out to cause 69% Android OS drain by the end of the day. Or from searching around here the custom ROM will cause shutter lag or other snall annoying things that I wouldnt be able to tolerate. I just dont know if the trade off is worth it this time as stock ICS works wonderfly for me.
I am however very interested in the 4.0.3 ROMs (even though I have no clue what 4.0.3 offers over 4.0.2) and the best kernel (lean) overclocks, undervolts, AND OC the gpu which i think are all awesome benefits.
Then I go search around about lean and find out that some people are experiencing lag.... Its like why go through all the trouble if im going to get 5 benefits as well as 4 negatives? AND cant get OTA.
Im just wondering if there is anyone out there (not you flashaholics) that feel it is better to stay stock this time around to live in peace so to say lol Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try stock, try custom.. then let us know whats best for you. choice, my friend, is a wonderful thing

it wont hurt anything to try a custom rom, you can always go back to stock

Have you guys tried the Gummy ROM or lean kernel? Any tips to avoid any of the problems I mentioned such as shutter lag or UI lag?

I had this issue with the GNEX. I have kept it stock so far. Unlocked bootloader, rooted and made a few UI changes and a differnt kernal.
I'm happy with it for now. Who knows what future will hold.

did the stock thing (with a few root mods like battery, menu button, brightness) for a couple months, then loaded up AOKP + leankernel and love the customization and battery life
will not go back to stock

If your device does what you want it to RIGHT NOW, then stay stock. If there are features that you want and only a custom rom can provide, then try a ROM, but be aware that custom kernels and ROMS can break some functions on your phone.
I was using CM7 on my previous android phone and lost the ability to receive voicemail notifications because of it.
Decide if you need "more", but accept any risks that come up because of it.

I suggest you try out AOKP ROM for the additional features and GUI settings. I also use franco. kernel for superior battery life and a noticeable speed increase.
It's a fantastic combo.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

DaF1974 said:
I suggest you try out AOKP ROM for the additional features and GUI settings. I also use franco. kernel for superior battery life and a noticeable speed increase.
It's a fantastic combo.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for aokp + franco , they are awesome.

Excuse my noobyness but isnt AOKP just a stock untouched firmware? Or is that AOSP.
Just looked up the franco kernel and have read nothing but good things.

Nadroid - flash = see for yourself. I also recommend AOKP M3. And stock has bugs also. The only ROM that ever rebooted on me, was stock. So. Nothing is perfect that is why we like to change everything.

I'm using stock still, but rooted and using a modified status bar transparent. I plan to switch to custom but just taking my time. You can easily just nand backup your stock rom, flash custom for testing, then restore your stock backup if need be. There are lots of enhancements in the custom roms that is worthwhile.

I only got my Galaxy Nexus yesterday, however i think the stock rom is great to be honest.
There was always some problem with custom roms on the Desire.
If i was going to use a custom rom on my Galaxy Nexus i would wait for the stable release of CM9 or MIUI (if there ever is a stable one).
For now stock is fine for me personally, only thing i really miss is all the settings in the notification tray, but rooted stock is working perfect for me and its nice to have a perfectly working phone for once

well well.. flashing phones like samsung jet, omnia II, galaxy s, wave or htc touch diamond or sensation was my life..till i met the sony xperia s.. Now its too hard to decide what to do. Stay on stock or flash the new roms, kernels, mods..again and again. I am on stock now because of few lags..I hadnt expected. I am not gonna explain what was it but I wanna have fully function device on my own and that is why I made the decision to sty on stock. And of course I am still waiting for original upgrade. That is my opinion.

stupidslow02gt said:
I cant decide on whether or not I want to load a custom rom on this phone!
I know this is XDA and everyone will say GO CUTSOM of course, but this is the first device I actually havent considered it. I feel like with every android phone Ive owned
And the hundreds of ROMs Ive used, Ive always experienced negatives that have come along with the positives that a custom ROM brings.
For example ill load up a ROM and it will come with the "best" kernel available, which turns out to cause 69% Android OS drain by the end of the day. Or from searching around here the custom ROM will cause shutter lag or other snall annoying things that I wouldnt be able to tolerate. I just dont know if the trade off is worth it this time as stock ICS works wonderfly for me.
I am however very interested in the 4.0.3 ROMs (even though I have no clue what 4.0.3 offers over 4.0.2) and the best kernel (lean) overclocks, undervolts, AND OC the gpu which i think are all awesome benefits.
Then I go search around about lean and find out that some people are experiencing lag.... Its like why go through all the trouble if im going to get 5 benefits as well as 4 negatives? AND cant get OTA.
Im just wondering if there is anyone out there (not you flashaholics) that feel it is better to stay stock this time around to live in peace so to say lol Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean. I kept mine stock for months, which is longer than any other phone I've had. But I finally bit the bullet and went custom and I'm glad I did. You just gotta try for your self and see which you prefer.

frow86 said:
it wont hurt anything to try a custom rom, you can always go back to stock
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Click to collapse
+1
Laird_Attwood said:
I had this issue with the GNEX. I have kept it stock so far. Unlocked bootloader, rooted and made a few UI changes and a differnt kernal.
I'm happy with it for now. Who knows what future will hold.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after doing whatever you want to your phone, if youre not going to flash anything, relock bootloader
stupidslow02gt said:
Excuse my noobyness but isnt AOKP just a stock untouched firmware? Or is that AOSP.
Just looked up the franco kernel and have read nothing but good things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A(ndroid)O(pen)S(ource)P(roject).
A(ndroid)O(pen)K(kang)P(project) is a custom rom by TeamKang, based on AOSP releases from Google.
Search tags: kang, aosp, source.android.com
@OP, i say just go with whatever you feel is working for you. If you feel stock is better, stick with it. I run my nexus bone stock (even with stock recovery, i use fastboot to boot cwm once, flash zip with a different font, just tired of roboto) from time to time, to get a grip of how things are going with official releases. I have no issues.
And there's no more Android OS bug. Use better battery stats (here in xda) to see whats causing wakelocks, which drains battery more than usual. If you have lte device you'll have considerably worse runtime on battery, if you on gsm then you'll get around 1d15h with 3h40 screen on with stock, when all is optimal. Lets face it, current battery technology blows.
Read a lot before flashing anything, till the point you are able to help others when they face issues without having really tested it yourself, to know possible advantages/disadvantages of x software/mod, if its user error, apps, or custom rom, or stock.
This is android as its supposed to be, some have even got bored of how easy it gets to play with this device.
sent from my i9250

sillverdj said:
well well.. flashing phones like samsung jet, omnia II, galaxy s, wave or htc touch diamond or sensation was my life..till i met the sony xperia s.. Now its too hard to decide what to do. Stay on stock or flash the new roms, kernels, mods..again and again. I am on stock now because of few lags..I hadnt expected. I am not gonna explain what was it but I wanna have fully function device on my own and that is why I made the decision to sty on stock. And of course I am still waiting for original upgrade. That is my opinion.
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Hey thanks for reviving a 3 month old thread to talk about your Sony phone in the nexus forum LOL
Also I would like to point out that I went AOKP then CM9 then LS all with the Franco kernel and wouldn't think about going back to stock. I would consider the phone unusable compared to what it is now lol

stupidslow02gt said:
Hey thanks for reviving a 3 month old thread to talk about your Sony phone in the nexus forum LOL
Also I would like to point out that I went AOKP then CM9 then LS all with the Franco kernel and wouldn't think about going back to stock. I would consider the phone unusable compared to what it is now lol
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Click to collapse
Yea LiquidSmooth is what I'm running on. Very fast and loads of features while being easy on the battery.

Everyone claims their 'insert rom' is easier on battery, but with the exception of those who have actively coded something like AOKP's battery saver, or BAMF Paradigm's tasker support in their LTE widget, its a bunch of BS.
Someone please show me, aside from the above, source code for a rom that saves battery. I'll settle for a github commit.
Most battery savings will come from lack of bugs that cause resource leaks and wake locks, or kernels.
All these claims are ranking right up there with statements like "deodexed for performance" or "ribbed for her pleasure".

I did flash a rom early on (Apex I believe it was) and I forget the reasoning behind me going back to stock but I am completely happy with staying on stock (& rooted) yakju. I will probably go to a rom sometime again in the future but for now I am good.
The good thing about flashing stock is that it is so easy to do it with fastboot so at any time you arent happy with roms you can just go back to stock.

[Q] Should I Install CM 10?

I am a long time Android and long time CM user. I have been using an LG G2x for way too long and finally got fed up with it. I have a brand new Galaxy S3 arriving tomorrow and am trying to figure out what to do when I get it.
For those of you have have used both the stock OS and CM 10, what are the advantages of each? By rooting and installing CM 10, what stock Samsung features will I lose? Are there any you think I might actually miss? So just in general, I was hoping someone who used both the stock OS and CM 10 for a decent amount of time could explain to me exactly what I will gain/lose by rooting and installing CM 10 on this phone. Thanks!

Not a good thread at all to start up man, just try them out and see for your self. Every one likes different things so it's kind of hard for us to just assume your needs... you know what I mean? Lots like both for different reasons, some always revert back to a stock rom some always go back to a cm rom.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Leave it stock but rooted for the first few days to see what you think. Many think the extra features and that its stable and fast are worth staying stock based. Still a lot of others opt for cm or aokp regardless. Just give em both their fsir chance!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

flash the latest cm10 nightly. They work for Samsung and all
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

mt3g said:
Not a good thread at all to start up man, just try them out and see for your self. Every one likes different things so it's kind of hard for us to just assume your needs... you know what I mean? Lots like both for different reasons, some always revert back to a stock rom some always go back to a cm rom.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is why I didn't ask if I should flash CM 10 or not. I very simply asked what the differences were between stock and CM 10. I am wondering what features I will have with stock that I will lose with CM 10 and vice versa. That is a very fair question to ask of people who have already used both. I am trying to avoid trying both by going through a hassle and having to reinstall my programs and reconfigure my settings multiple times if I don't have to.

You lose all samsung stock features. That should be a no brainer. No motion activities, no smart stay (natively) no touchwiz, no wifi calling. Vanilla stock is what it always is, clean, no bloat, and super fast... what I said wasnt in any way being rude. It was exteremly truthful, and to the point.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

mt3g said:
You lose all samsung stock features. That should be a no brainer. No motion activities, no smart stay (natively) no touchwiz, no wifi calling. Vanilla stock is what it always is, clean, no bloat, and super fast... what I said wasnt in any way being rude. It was exteremly truthful, and to the point.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Wifi calling doesn't work on CM 10? I have been using it on CM 7 for my G2x.
So do you miss any of those Samsung features? I guess are they gimmicky or actually nice to have? From reviews, I have read that stock is really fast, so not sure if I gain speed by going to CM. Have you noticed speed improvements with CM 10 over stock?

I know but its so deeply integrated into framework and settings now its a pain. And no I personally don't miss those gimmicky features, but allot of people do. I stick to tw roms, because of battery. It always seems to last longer on stock based roms for me. Otherwise I prefer cm based roms. Lets just say I'll be moving to cm as soon as I feel it is closer to 100% in my eyes. Or the nexus 4 lol. And the only way I can feel it being 100% is by me testing it, not asking others. That's what I meant with my 1st post.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

I have to agree with mt3g here. AOSP ROMs are not the same as TW ROMs. I used TW for awhile when I first got my SGS3 and flashed pretty much all of them out there. I wasn't concerned with battery use, as I consider myself a battery expert. I was more interested in performance and features that were exclusive to TW and AOSP. They are so different that the only way to really get to know each other is to test drive them yourself.
Now I am on LiquidSmooth (AOSP base) and I love it. I am getting massive battery life, have tethering (I thethered my tablet to is almost all day yesterday after a bad flash [on the tablet not the phone]), Theme chooser springs a bit of life back into the eyecandy part. <--sometimes people flash not bc they want a new ROM but a new look .
Will I go back to TW? Sure. I tested Doc's ROM before he released it and I like it plenty enough to run it as a daily driver. But this is XDA and what are here for?
What do we want? A custom ROM
When do we want it? NO ETAs!!!! :cyclops:

Woodrube said:
I have to agree with mt3g here. AOSP ROMs are not the same as TW ROMs. I used TW for awhile when I first got my SGS3 and flashed pretty much all of them out there. I wasn't concerned with battery use, as I consider myself a battery expert. I was more interested in performance and features that were exclusive to TW and AOSP. They are so different that the only way to really get to know each other is to test drive them yourself.
Now I am on LiquidSmooth (AOSP base) and I love it. I am getting massive battery life, have tethering (I thethered my tablet to is almost all day yesterday after a bad flash [on the tablet not the phone]), Theme chooser springs a bit of life back into the eyecandy part. <--sometimes people flash not bc they want a new ROM but a new look .
Will I go back to TW? Sure. I tested Doc's ROM before he released it and I like it plenty enough to run it as a daily driver. But this is XDA and what are here for?
What do we want? A custom ROM
When do we want it? NO ETAs!!!! :cyclops:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very well said. :good:
I personally never ever ran a touchwiz or sense ROMs on any device I've ever owned for more than a day. I just missed the full control cm ROMs give. Ever since my HD2 I've ran cm7 up to cm10 on my s3. I really never notice the features being lost from a tw ROM mostly because I don't use them. Never really thought their "advertised" features were all that.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I am running on a CM10 based rom and the only stock Samsung feature I miss is the Smart Stay. Everything else was just too gimmicky

Pretty sure there is an app for most of the samsung features.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

I stuck to stock ICS TW for a couple of days and I didn't enjoy it.
It just seemed too much and I wanted a closer to stock experience.
Made the switch to CM10. Greatest thing ever.
It's simple, effective, and works in pretty much every way that I would like.
The only thing that I miss from TW is the Messaging app.

jimbo831 said:
I am a long time Android and long time CM user. I have been using an LG G2x for way too long and finally got fed up with it. I have a brand new Galaxy S3 arriving tomorrow and am trying to figure out what to do when I get it.
For those of you have have used both the stock OS and CM 10, what are the advantages of each? By rooting and installing CM 10, what stock Samsung features will I lose? Are there any you think I might actually miss? So just in general, I was hoping someone who used both the stock OS and CM 10 for a decent amount of time could explain to me exactly what I will gain/lose by rooting and installing CM 10 on this phone. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you use Skype, Vox, or any other VOIP app? If you do, then don't flash CM10, AOKP or any other AOSP based rom.

sovereignty68 said:
Do you use Skype, Vox, or any other VOIP app? If you do, then don't flash CM10, AOKP or any other AOSP based rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I know why? I'm right now with the Galaxy SI and on CM10, hoping to get the S3 and on the same dilemma. Right now my Skype works well on the CM10, Viber works only on speaker phone.

Having tried cm 10/aokp as well as TW ROMs for extended periods of time, I can say the following:
Although at first missing a certain TW feature might seem like a drawback- the feeling comes from what you're used to, and after a few days or week you will likely forget those features which you previously had which you thought were so important. For me the TW calendar (s Planner) was the big thing I was missing- since for a while I really couldn't find a good substitute which looked as good and performed as well! Finally I found one, so now I don't even compare anymore, but even if I hadn't found a substitute I'm sure I would have moved on at some point.
Point is, base your choice on the majority of the benefits that you'll get from the respective ROM. Personally, I like aokp/cm10 precisely because of its overall simplistic aesthetic ( I'm in love with the native jelly bean fonts used in the notification bar) and its native ability to theme. In terms of performance and extra tweaks, there are plenty of custom TW ROMs which are on par with the aosp ones (IMO). So I think it comes down to the overall feel/look, and pure personal preference.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

jimbo831 said:
I am a long time Android and long time CM user. I have been using an LG G2x for way too long and finally got fed up with it. I have a brand new Galaxy S3 arriving tomorrow and am trying to figure out what to do when I get it.
For those of you have have used both the stock OS and CM 10, what are the advantages of each? By rooting and installing CM 10, what stock Samsung features will I lose? Are there any you think I might actually miss? So just in general, I was hoping someone who used both the stock OS and CM 10 for a decent amount of time could explain to me exactly what I will gain/lose by rooting and installing CM 10 on this phone. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you will lose wifi calling, you will lose the ability to upload music straight from the music player to drop box, you will lose your mind, however, once you run a JB ROM and use google now for the first time, and you will go ape over the amount of customization available to cm10 users.
honestly, used "stock" for about 3 weeks when i first got my device back in july, flashed cm10, and never looked back. words cannot describe how amazing and feature-packed a cm10 ROM is...
flash hellfire 1.3 (if you don't mind the red), and give slim bean a shot if you don't want the red. I have had nothing but positive results with those two.
also, follow my guide in this section for the flashing process.
good luck.

WiFi calling
For me WiFi calling is the biggest feature, and extremely important. I don't have T-Mobile signal in my lab, where I spend most of the time and WiFi calling is the only hope. This is why I'm staying with the stock for now.
But if anyone can show me a way to get WiFi calling on CM10, I will be really thankful. Hate the stock rom from the bottom of my heart!!
-Thanks

The camera on cm10 is whats holding me back but once they come out with cm10.1 based on JB 4.2 then i think ill root and rom my phone.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Is there a need for custom rom?

I've been looking at the pictures of some home screens which look spectacular, I just want your opinion. I've just sold my iPhone 5 for Galaxy S3 i9305 LTE and I'm already amazed at being able to do so much. One thing that annoyed me with iPhone was the need to jailbreak if you wanted to do anything, so android is perfect and I think my phone set up with Nova Launcher Prime looks terrific.
Do I really need to go any further as I'd hate having to go back in the jailbreak business.

You and try it out no one is stopping you and I suggest that there is better performance for the phone so it is good
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Pie8er said:
I've been looking at the pictures of some home screens which look spectacular, I just want your opinion. I've just sold my iPhone 5 for Galaxy S3 i9305 LTE and I'm already amazed at being able to do so much. One thing that annoyed me with iPhone was the need to jailbreak if you wanted to do anything, so android is perfect and I think my phone set up with Nova Launcher Prime looks terrific.
Do I really need to go any further as I'd hate having to go back in the jailbreak business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do what you want if you find you want xxx and it requires root then its your choice .
Point to note no root then no XDA Developers exists .
jje

I believe it is a matter of personal preference. This phone is one of the best, so no, there is no need for a custom Rom if it covers all of your needs as if. Just have in mind that some custom roms will give you a performance gain but will break some other stuff. I am not against custom, I've used them since I bought my Spica but this is the first one I do not see the need to go the custom Rom way
Enviado desde mi GT-I9300 usando Tapatalk 2

Personally, I rooted my previous phones (and my Galaxy Tab) to increase their performance. However, he S3's performance - and come on, dude, you have the LTE version - is worlds apart to that of my previous phones. I still don't see the need to customize it.
However, this is coming from someone who doesn't really mind the TouchWIZ interface that Samsung made. If you really want a stock Android experience, then root, and then install a custom rom.

To be totally honest, don't think a custom rom is needed. That said, some mods DO make it better by a fair bit. For a phone that boasts 1Gb of ram it falls really short on multitasking. It just seems to close any app that stays in the background for a while even if it's memory wasn't needed. Rarely though, it will work properly for some reason. Haven't tried better memory managment mods (will do at some point) but this is the only really important one i'd like stock to do better.
There's also another grey area. Not really a custom rom but the latest samsung leak for the international version make it worlds apart from stock ICS, performance and functions wise. You'd need to get it from unofficial channels since it's a leak and hasn't been officially released yet AND in some countries may never be or just be really delayed for some reason. To install it, of course, you'd have to dable into "jailbreaking" (man i hate this term) business since it isn't official.
Also, in this latest leak, i'm also looking forward to that mod that adds all apps to multiview (haven't installed it yet). Everything else i'd use to want from a custom rom (mainly on my SGS), samsung has just about delivered: configurable toggle buttons, long press toggle to quickly access settings, smart stay/rotate, really smooth UI with touchwiz (even if it redraws often albeit less in this latest ROM), LOADS of ways to ease up your how you interact with your phone (gestures, motions, etc), loads of convenient menus everywhere, etc. Even if something is not to your liking there's a very high chance you can customize it or just get a free app from the market to make it to your liking, most of the time not requiring a rooted phone.
TL: DR: Nop, don't think so. I'd change minor stuff though

Simply necessary to set 240 DPI...320 is for my grandma.

NO...period. ..
sent frm 3rd rock...

Interesting subject..
In reality no, there no need for a custom rom.. its simply an avenue to save time. Eg. If you find yourself installing a multitude of different mods/tweaks everytime you update your phone then a custom rom would suite you because they come installed by default.
If you like as close to the stock experience as possible then by all means no a custom rom is not needed.
In reality a custom rom is simply a collection of mods cooked together by the dev.. roms share very similar mods/tweaks with perhaps some cosmetic differences.
The phrase "jailbreak" originated because of the stock iOS experience being so restricted.. in the Android world the stock experience is the complete opposite, it allows you to do a large range of things although the only thing you may have to do to completely take advantage of your device is root it.
Perhaps this thread should of went into the Q/A area.. but nether the less good subject.

Pie8er said:
I've just sold my iPhone 5 for Galaxy S3 i9305 LTE
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We need more people like you in this world! Come join us in the Galaxy S3 general discussion thread!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1889453
Also, in my opinion, there is no need to root the S3. Samsung have done an amazing job with it! It has great features and you can do so much without having to root. If you like the flavour of custom ROMs, though, you'll need to root. Just check them out and see what suits your everyday needs!
Enjoy!

kaynpayn said:
To be totally honest, don't think a custom rom is needed. That said, some mods DO make it better by a fair bit. For a phone that boasts 1Gb of ram it falls really short on multitasking.
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Click to collapse
If you see the OP he actually bought the I9305 which is 2GB ram.. So its good with multitasking. And to the OP you are in the wrong Forum there is a I9305 q/a forum now if you read the forum headings. And about the custom rom, Just go about your way and use your phone normally now if you come to a roadblock or hiccup or want to try tweak it in anyway thats when you start looking into customizing or getting another rom and see if it runs smoother

CM -- Am I being shortsighted?

I'm really stuck between I'm being short sighted and naive, and XDA is just full of people who do things simply because they can. I know my latter argument will sound aggressive, but it's not intended to wound.
I see the CM threads. I see lots and lots of excitement over CM. But I couldn't care less. I come from a phone that HAD to have CM (note 1 / i717). Touchwiz was outdated and horrendous on it. But with the Note 3 + wanam, I really can't come up with any reason to flash CM. The few cases I've seen are being able to do things w/o xposed, but if I already have xposed set up.. what problem am I solving? And beside, with things like Tinted Bar module, I'd be running the framework regardless.
Also, with my i717, touchwiz was (post 4.0) extremely slow. I could see if our touchwiz was slow, but having debloated it myself, I can't imagine things being faster. Again, sorry about the perceived tone, but I completely dismiss all the "wow this is fast!!!!" posts as placebo (as the recent exposure to build.prop fakeness so eloquently demonstrated). We have, arguably, the fastest phone that can be purchased. With the most RAM. What's CM going to do for me switching between Gmail and Chrome? Shave off 50ms? As if my eyes can notice that.
And since I hate, hate, hate on /r/Android when someone posts some "convince me to.." threads, let me be clear, I'm genuinely curious if people have legitimate reasons to be excited about CM. Things I'm simply not aware of or grasping. I get the -- I'm bored and I'll flash because I flash because flash because TWRP because Android -- but beyond that, why? Why are we so bonerific for CM?

Yes we do do things simply because we can and that is a benefit of a open system instead of a closed system like ios. But that is not the sole reason why people get excites for cm. For me now that we got cm that means we will have more Roms and development for our device. Also the reason why I prefer aosp over touchwiz the feel of the device after I customize it. For example I turn off my hardware keys and replace then with softkeys in a setup of phone, back/kill app, home, recent/menu and chrome. Now add halo on top of that and for me I have a much more fluid experience.

i hate touchwiz,i hate the look,the feel,the flow of it. I love the nexus line of phones,but i was a large screen,i have to have an sd card slot,so for me, getting a note, and installing cm on it is my perfect phone. Im not worried about it being faster, this phone is stupid fast. i dont use any touchwiz feature, and i dont want them taking up space. I hate the stock touchwiz pull down,so i love not having to use it. Its just a personal preference to me. I also love the faster updates from having a stock android experience.

I'm kind of in the same camp as OP when it comes to CM. I do get excited about it just cause it means that development is growing for our phones and its always neat when new rom comes out, but every time I flash a CM rom I always end up back on TW because I take a ton of pictures and CM's camera suuuuuuuucks. I also always end up missing S-note. Some phones run way better on CM but like you said, ours are robust enough to run anything.

I have the i717 as well and used CM on it since I got it plus used CM on my TouchPad before that. I like the consistency that using CM on all my devices provides. I don't like TW either, the color scheme is ugly and the stock apps aren't my favorites either. I love the holo theme of AOSP. So why did I bother with the Note 3 when the Nexus 5 has pure AOSP already? I don't see a phone with anemic, limited, non-replaceable storage or battery as a good power user device. I also love the stylus but not for writing as much as using it as a precision cursor for remote desktop. The Note 3 hardware is awesome and I loved my Note 1 with CM so I wanted a Note 3 with CM. I'm also a strong believer in transparency and open source = higher quality code and AOSP ROMs usually reflect that apart from some hacks to interface with proprietary blobs. I like the customization as well and while you can get by with stock firmware and lots of mods it ends up being very hackish and not all free or open source like a proper source built ROM.
Sent from my SM-N900T using xda app-developers app

The joy of the hole thing is you can try anything you want, however, being critical of materials here is really not what XDA is for. Either use the stuff here, contribute to the cause, and learn about development along the way.
and then, there is this thread here too...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2532873

[Q] Thoughts on CM 11

Could anyone running "stock" CM 11 on their T-Mo S3 comment on the experience? Is battery usage better/worse/the same as the stock TW 4.3 ROM? Any issues with screen auto-brightness, sensors, etc? Are there any stock Samsung apps that you miss?
I'm on the fence right now- I've been stock & unrooted since I got my S3 almost 2 years ago, but now starting to get the itch to move away from all the Samsung bloat. I know there are some little things I will miss about the Samsung version of some apps like email, but having a more uniform and less junked-up experience is appealing. I know I could root & get rid of the bloat too...
Just curious as to folks' impressions- I've used CM 7-10 in the past and enjoyed it...
Thanks in advance!

Quiet out there! Well, I've run across some reports of camera issues, but that's about the only negative I see with CM11 vs. TouchWiz so far. Oh, and losing WIFI calling, which has never been a big deal to me, but I do like having the option.

Everyone has their own preferences. Personally I am a TW guy. But there's plenty of folks on both sides. Great thing is you can try it and if you don't like it, just flash back to stock based.

Yup just try it, its nice, but up to personal preference.. I think camera and WiFi calling is one of the only downsides. I didn't experience much trouble with camera it was very stable, just that the touchwiz camera app is much better and takes superior photos IMO, also has more options.. You could always try a 3rd party camera app of course, so again its personal preference

DocHoliday77 said:
Everyone has their own preferences. Personally I am a TW guy. But there's plenty of folks on both sides. Great thing is you can try it and if you don't like it, just flash back to stock based.
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Me too. I like the camera, color point is a neat feature that no other camera seems to offers, I find the launcher works well and flows nice. I keep trying other ROM's with 1534534534543 features that I don't really ever use or need and come back to the stock ROM. Running 4.4.2 from my carrier, rooted with towelroot, KT kernel for power tweaking, can uninstall all the bloat I want and I'm good.
It's a choice, but sometimes, there are too many choices. XXX Rom has all the best (our option of the best) features of A,B,C,D,E,F,G. Ya, well our rom YYY has all the best features of A,B,C,D,E,F,G and H. Ooooo. Does it really matter? lol. I like being able to update my Gapps when I want, not have to run a special version.
XDA did a test a while ago against the Linaro toolchain compiles vs gcc and found no real difference in speed of apps or battery life. XDA or some other Android site did a test of ART vs dalvik, not a huge difference, ART performing worse in some cases. Same with all the build.prop tweaks that others tout. In reality and in testing, most don't do anything, or worse in some cases.
There is too many, I guess rumors out there about Android that everyone jumps on like "tweaks", "compile flags", "odex vs deodex" that keep going around, and don't seem to change anything other than offer bugs. Hard to find a custom ROM that isn't updated all the time to fix this issues or reports of random reboots, etc, all the time in the threads.
To each their own, but in reality, I don't think there is much difference between all the different ROM's. All small, small, variations on a theme. And half the difference or added in things, not many people use anyways.