Bitcoin Forum

hi,
I just started bitcoin mining with my GPU. I started out connecting to DeepBit because it seemed to be one of the bigger pools, but I'd like to try another one. What pools can you guys recommend? I've heard good things about Eligius. How does it compare to DeepBit? What other pools should I consider? What are the pros and cons?
Thanks for the responses!

Most pools are good.
The main difference between DeepBit and Eligius is that Eligius pays with generation transactions - you get uncirculated coins, but have to wait for 16-20 hours before you can use them.

Hey there,
Give BitClockers  (http://bitclockers.com/forums/index.php?topic=3.0) a try. The fees are lower than some of the bigger pools and the community is very friendly. the guys at Bitclockers pool are working hard to consistently upgrade the site, add new features and give back to the members.

Pros: better for the bitcoin network to not have a single large pool - this is a known protocol vulnerability, we should diversify the pools.
Pro/Con: size

All pools mathematically average towards the same rate of return. Size provides a level of stability, with DB winning almost half the block you will see LOTS of VERY small credits. On the other hand Eligius will pay you out larger shares, but only a few times a day, if Eligius has a string of bad luck it will matter more, since they expect to win fewer blocks a day the difference of only a few makes a big dent.

If you leave your miner running all week and check it once on the weekend, you will probably not notice a difference in payout.

If you are a console jockey who is constantly hitting refresh to see how your miners are doing, you will likely find a larger pool more edifying.

I duel mine ( two miners running per core ) on Eligius and BTCGuild. I have mined both on slushes pool, and on btcmine and was happy with them. When I decided to duel mine I picked one decent size and one smallish pool both of which had very low fees in order to avoid downtime, and help stem the DB tide.

I was on deepbit (proportional payment) for a week and seeing about 1.5% stale share rate. I switched to Eligius and have been getting over 3% stale. Am I making up for it through lower fees? Any suggestions for how to reduce the number of stale shares? (using guiminer)