[Galaxy Y GT-S5360 General] kurotsugi:
I've seen a lot of new member here. I hope this thread might help them decide what ROM are best for them and reduce the number of question. however, I won't mention any rom in this forum to keep this thread from my subjective point of view. you should see the development section by yourself to find your best suited rom for you.

OK. lets get straight to the topic. this is some things that you should consider when you choose a custom rom. I'll divide the guide into three main parts two make everything is easy to understand. the parts are performance, style, and additional consideration.

1. debloatware

debloatware is a process to remove considered useless apk from the system. every rom has different degree of debloatware. a hight degree debloatware means you'll have only use a little of ram space for system app. however we'll lost some of sync function like kies synchronization if we remove all bloatware from the system. make sure that you still have all the app you need from stock rom in your custom rom.

2. deodexed vs odexed

Most of custom rom available is deodexed rom while our stock rom is half deodexed rom. I'll try to explain it in most simple way. First of all, we should understand that mostly every app in android consist of three part, *apk files, *dex/odex files, and lib files.

ODEXED rom means that *dex file needed to run the app is extracted from the apk file and placed in same folder with the apk files (/system/app). the positive side, it is tend to more stable and consume less internal memory and a execute faster. it is also faster since the system doesn't have to build dalvik cache at boot process. the negative side, it makes the app uncostumizable (cannot apply custom themes) and need more space in system partition.

DEODEXED rom means that *dex file needed to run the app is extracted from the apk file and placed in /data/dalvik-cache. the positive side, the app can be themed (full customizable) and consume less system partition. we could put more app in /system/app in deodexed rom. the negative side, it consume a lot of internal memory. the system also might a little bit slower since the system need to build a lot of dalvik-cache when the phone start.

3. custom kernel

a custom kernel could give you a huge boost of performance. for the most basic one, you should choose a kernel with init.d support. we'll need it to run a lot of performance tweaks. if you're seeing a custom kernel, you should look into these point:

- custom governoor

custom governoor will give you a lot of option to set your device performance. you can set the performance as hight as possible or save your battery as long as possible by set the correct governoor.

- custom scheduler

its almost same with custom governoor. however it manage I/O on your device. it won't give you a huge boost on performance but you should consider it as your main consideration.

- droidwall support

- a2sd and swap support

- additional feature

- bug and rom compatibility

not all custom rom compatible with all custom kernel. make sure that your custom kernel is compatible with your rom.

4. performance tweak availabilty

for a basic consideration, make sure that your rom have a performance tweak. otherwise, you'll got only a themed rom with stock performance. if you're a performance person, make sure your rom is have these tweak.

- memory management optimization

- hsdpa optimization

- kernel and I/O optimization

- gps optimization

- internet speed optimization

these tweaks are could be found at build.prop, init.d, sysctl.conf, and gps.conf.

5. additional tweaks

there are also some additional tweak you should consider if you want to install a rom. the commonly used are:

- bravia engine

- sound enhancement

6. performance app

some ROMs offer performance tweak app like ROM manager inside it. you should consider these app if you're a performance person

1. theme

this is a very subjective topic. you should choose a rom with a topic suit with your style.

2. degree of customization

every rom has certain degree of customization. if you're a themed person, you should consider these point for your rom.

- EDT tweak for statbar customization

- ROM'S lab

- customizer app

- theme availability

3. ROM special app

some of ROM have special app for their rom. they're specially developed for only certain roms and comes with special names and various function. these app will give you a huge power for style and performance customization.

1. update availability

some ROMs are good but they're left undeveloped. you won't get an update for your rom. you should choose a rom with a continous update from the dev to ensure you get the best rom for you.

2. dev support

not all ROM maker are really a dev. some of them just a wannabe dev with a theme modified rom skill. you can't expect them to solve the bug in their rom. you should choose with a good reputation and high skill.

3. rom size

this is not a huge issue. if you have a slow internet connection, a smaller rom is better for you. smaller rom also means a big degree of bloatware. the system will be lighter than the other rom.

4. rom base

some of rom are using old firmware (--KL) while some other are using newer firmware(--LB or newer). you should aware of these stuff since not theme and mod available in our forum are compatible with all firmware. new firmware will give you more stability but in most case you can't have custom bootanimation.

5. multilanguage

this is not a huge issue but you should consider it as well. not all rom support japanese, chinese, arabic, spain and latin fonts.

DISCLAIMER: REMEMBER THAT YOU'LL NEVER GET ALL IN ONE PACKET ROM. ALL ROMS HAVE THEIR STRENGTH POINT. YOU CAN'T EXPECT ANY DEV TO MAKE "A PERFECT" ROM FOR EVERYONE. IF YOU DON'T SATISFY WITH YOUR ROM REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS CUSTOMIZE YOUR ROM BY YOURSELF.