Rourke's Swift Guide to Barebones ROMs?

[Rourke Swift]

After reading Gorelow's post in this thread, I got to thinking about the different 6.5 ROMs around these parts, and which ones could really be considered barebones.

Since I was planning on flashing a bunch of different ROMs today for giggles, I took it upon myself to do a little bit of note-taking and comparisons while doing so, and posting them for anyone interested.

For starters, I noted: the OS footprint of the base ROM in storage memory, which is generally just 6.5 and the modifications made to it; the additional storage memory consumed by packages installed with the ROM (a good indicator of being either "loaded/bloated"); the amount of RAM reserved by the OS (this includes the page pool, and is generally allocated for basic system functions); and the additional RAM consumed by the ROM on a clean boot.

Also, I noted the time it takes get through initial setup/customizations/auto-reset, and load into a functioning Windows after hard reset. This was done twice per ROM after the initial flash, and the results were averaged. While that may not be a perfect benchmark, I've generally found the longer it takes to install the operating system, the more junk/goodies I'm getting with it.

Finally, I included a few notes on the ROMs compared.

As the OP in that thread had inquired about a ROM that "made Juicy8 look bloated," I (unfairly) collected the same data from his ROM to use as comparison.

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Juicy 8_090723

Setup Time: 6:16
OS Footprint - 183.23 MB
Addons - 27.88 MB
RAM Reserved - 88.77 MB
RAM Used -72.64 MB

Notes: this is one of my personal favorite ROMs. Comes preloaded with many of the features and applications I would otherwise have to install: TF3D2, Google Maps, QuickGPS; it's not carrier specific, it's fast, and is fairly streamlined for having Rhodium installed. I would not, however, consider it a "barebones" ROM by any stretch.

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DCD 2.0.3

Setup Time - 2:48
OS Footprint - 130.31 MB
Addons - 2.45MB
RAM Reserved - 87.75 MB
RAM Used - 48.82 MB

Notes: incredibly small, fast, and bug-free; most things like HTC Album, Task Manager, Audio Booster stripped out; you'll need a cab to install pretty much everything you're used to having in other ROMs.

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Project Copper 0.0.0.1

Setup Time - 4:27
OS Footprint - 142.89 MB
Addons - 15.12 MB
RAM Reserved - 88.77 MB
RAM Used - 55.25 MB


Notes: an almost "au natural" 21500 experience: a streamlined ROM, but still user friendly; responsive, clean, stable. If you want a user-friendly stock ROM tweaked a bit for speed, I recommend it.

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Midnight v4.5

Setup Time - 6:15
OS Footprint - 156.96 MB
Addons - 22.98 MB
RAM Reserved - 77.59 MB
RAM Used - 63.17 MB

Notes: I'm not sure why this was suggested as a barebones ROM. A good deal of apps included like MusicID and the PPCG App, as well as FKB2.1, hTorch Flashlight, Smart Lyrics, among others. It's a nice looking ROM however, but I don't see it as really "barebones."

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RaidZero Baseline 2.6

Setup Time - 4:14
OS Footprint - 144.01 MB
Addons - 10.06 MB
RAM Reserved - 87.94 MB
RAM Used - 58.08

Notes: Surprisingly small footprint given the extras. Includes a custom taskbar, Google Maps, Titanium customization tools, FKB2.1, hTorch Flashlight, a registry editor, Opera, MP3 Trimmer, and more. As with Midnight, I feel all additions prevent this ROM from being a real "barebones" ROM, but I definitely give it a thumbs up for style and speed.

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JD's LR2.01 72809beta

Setup Time - 3:58
OS Footprint - 116.49 MB
Addons - 11.14 MB
RAM Reserved - 87.82 MB
RAM Used - 51.09 MB

Notes: Still playing with it. Don't think I'll be flashing off for a while.

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That's what I've gathered so far, but it's getting late and I'm tired of missing phone calls because I'm in the middle of a hard-reset. Given the data above, it seems DCD and JD take the prize for barebones though, if there's another ROM I'm missing in that category please mention it!

[raidzero]

Thanks for this! very informative! You actually timed the flashing and set-up time and then noted the memory statistics on boot? sweet. thanks again..

people have been asking me for a real barebones ROM. I think I'll do it, after all it's not like it takes a long time to cook it!

[Rourke Swift]

Originally Posted by raidzero

Thanks for this! very informative! You actually timed the flashing and set-up time and then noted the memory statistics on boot? sweet. thanks again..

Ha, I was really bored. Got to test drive a few ROMs I otherwise wouldn't have though, so that was fun.

[quazimodem]

Nice work Rourke... I love stats. This could be a future sticky. Do you have any plans to include/test some of the other ROMs? JD LR3 beta has been out for a while now... definitely worthy to include those statistics.

[cmf04]

Originally Posted by quazimodem

Nice work Rourke... I love stats. This could be a future sticky. Do you have any plans to include/test some of the other ROMs? JD LR3 beta has been out for a while now... definitely worthy to include those statistics.

I agree. I would love to see all of the stats for all of the ROMs. Then you could call the title "Rourke's Swift Guide to ROMs?". Love the work for the ROMs tested already.

[Rourke Swift]

yeah, I think I can manage that. After work I'll do some reformatting and update with more ROMs and a broader range of information.

Edit - Real life got in the way of any sort of comprehensive list. By the time I got around to it, 4 of these ROMs had already been updated; will work on it when I've got more time.

[dschoenike]

Hey guys, i apologize in advance for this question, but id really appreciate an opinion. ive been happily using the copper rom for months now, and its been great. So, would there be any benefit to flashing dcd's rom? I mean theyre both barebones roms, but does dcd's being more current, offer any improvements in any way? I guess i could try it and flash back to copper and restore a backup, if its not what i expected. Im hoping Rourke Swift can chime in seeing as hes recently tried both. thx guys,
dschoenike