[Q] ROMs for non-experimental usage, fast Contacts fetching

Hello,

I'm fighting with my N7000 Note on a daily basis. I have the latest brazilian stock 4.1.2 ROM and after disabling everything I could and disabling all Samsung services I could find on Titanium Backup, it still takes around 5-10 seconds just to launch Contacts. Any app takes forever to open comparing to my wife's iPhone 5C.

Well, now I have two options:
- Buying a new expensive phone;
- Give a new breath of life to my Note;

So my question is: are these 3rd-party ROMs able to make the Note perform like a new phone? I'll probably need Google Apps and Facebook, but I don't need any Samsung Apps. I wouldn't flash my Note just to get an updated GUI, I want a better performance in the first place, doesn't matter if GUI elements look ugly.

Thanks for all commenters in advance!