As the OP of this thread I feel obligated to update whatever new guys that have found their way to this thread. As of the past few weeks or so both CM7 and MIUI have been released in perfectly stable forms for the fascinate. These are by far the best ROMs available and I seriously urge you to check them both out. Here's links to both and you have to try them to believe it but they're leaps and bounds above everything else.
MIUI
[ROM] MIUI FascinateMTD 1.7.22 - xda-developers
Currently updating with weekly releases adding goodies and stability on a regular basis. Keep in mind that it's perfectly stable and usable as is and there are no missing features.
CM7
[ROM] CyanogenMod 7 (fascinatemtd) pretty-much-official build 11.1 - [07/18/11] - xda-developers
Basically the final build for CM7 on fascinate. It's actually getting pushed to the CM7 nightlies so you guys get to enjoy the goodness there too. Again, it's perfectly stable and it's a complete ROM as well meaning no missing features.
I'd like to add a kernel recommendation for anyone running these roms.
[KERNEL][CM7/MIUI][16/07/11] Glitch V11.1 final -1.7GHz OC/UV-Voodoo-Smooth and fast - xda-developers
This is Glitch V.11 final and I can confidently say that it's the best kernel in existence for this phone and rom combo. Can overclock to 1700 and has the ability to undervolt. It's lightning fast (I have quadrant scores over 3100 overclocked at only 1440) and it sips battery when undervolted properly.
From my overall experience with the forums and experimentation I can pretty confidently say that this is the best that it's going to get for the fascinate. Both CM7 and MIUI are constantly fixed, updated, and improved, and this kernel is so good that you'll never have to look at a different one in your life. Just my 2 cents.
As a fairly new user (I've rooted an old fascinate, but I now have a newer replacement), I was wondering if someone could walk me through doing this to my phone. Or, is there a youtube or writeup I can read to go through the steps? Thanks in advance for any help!