Smoked Glass is Nice and All, but...

[adrynalyne]

if you are running the exact same rom, but one with a theme and one not with a theme, nothing should change because metamorph themes just replace the images with new ones. so it'd be exactly the same, unless i'm missing something

Well that is true, but Smoked Glass uses a buttload of transparency, which looks fantastic but drags down performance due to it all being handled by the CPU.

 

[adrynalyne]

How do you put the stock theme back on BB 0.7.5....I had some people ask and since I never cared, I didn't put it in my guide but I'd like to.

That being said, the images are replaced not duplicated so not sure how that would affect the speed. I could run a benchmark before and after though to see.

A benchmark isn't really going to tell the whole story. Folks will need to trust their own perception here. The real issue is that the Smoked Glass graphics are more complex, and use a lot of transparency, and with the CPU rendering it all, it really does eat some of the performance. I'm not telling people not to use Glass, because it looks great. But if you really want a performance difference when overclocking, try it without using Glass as well.

All of this could be remedied if the UI was handled by the GPU...

 

[Matth3w]

I guess I don't have an issue whatsoever, my stuff is lightning fast.

Anyhow, I updated my guide with the information on how to patch back to the stock.

 

[adrynalyne]

Ah, but have you tried it with the stock theme?

I bet its even faster. It was for me, anyway, by a considerable amount.

 

[Matth3w]

Nope, can't get much faster than instant, so no reason for me to try.

 

[hacku]

Nope, can't get much faster than instant, so no reason for me to try.

Sure it can!

Maybe your phone will start making changes before you even tap the screen. The DROID is going to start reading your mind... :icon_ banana:

 

[Briankbl]

And why would that be? We are just talking images...

Exaaactly lol

The themes are not what are slowing down the Droid, but all of the system modifications that come with ROMs. Also, which apps and widgets you have installed/running must be taken into account.

No, the transparency rendered by the CPU is part of what kills performance in Smoked Glass. I don't use anyone's ROM but my own customized version, with and without Smoked Glass. I know what mods went into it, and none of them are going to have any effect here.

Nope, can't get much faster than instant, so no reason for me to try.

I haven't made or edited a ROM yet, but I do know that, as far as the images go - they are just being exported to an editing program(Photoshop), then reimported into the ROM, overwriting the previous file. Also, you can use Photoshop to create transparency in images.

Therefore, the cpu is not strained. It is not creating the transparency effect, it is just the effect on the image created via photoshop.

I could be completely wrong, but this is what makes sense to me. That's why many people with just themes installed are experiencing zero lag, while people with ROMs may be seeing a slight decrease in performance. I am still going by my earlier explanation unless someone with real background here can shed some light on this.

 

[adrynalyne]

Well, I can see a visible framerate drop in the App drawer alone, no to mention the notification bar, when using stock and smoked glass theme.

I can post my Nandroid if someone is curious. This is without Smoked Glass at 1ghz.

*********** - online file sharing and storage - download adryn-BDRS-20100214-0010.7z

With this Nandroid and at 550mhz, I get the same performance when I was using Smoked Glass via metamorph and 800mhz.

 

[Matth3w]

Nope, can't get much faster than instant, so no reason for me to try.

Sure it can!

Maybe your phone will start making changes before you even tap the screen. The DROID is going to start reading your mind... :icon_ banana:

I could just stare at it and it can type for me?

 

[xliderider]

Well, I can see a visible framerate drop in the App drawer alone, no to mention the notification bar, when using stock and smoked glass theme.

I can post my Nandroid if someone is curious. This is without Smoked Glass at 1ghz.

*********** - online file sharing and storage - download adryn-BDRS-20100214-0010.7z

With this Nandroid and at 550mhz, I get the same performance when I was using Smoked Glass via metamorph and 800mhz.

Thanks for sharing.

I'll give it a try... later. Gotta take out the missus for VD tonight.

 

[adrynalyne]

LOL....I took a double take at "VD"

 

[Matth3w]

Yeah, I was like...uh....

 

[xliderider]

lol, had a few minutes. Downloaded and it's loaded up and restoring now.