Slush vs. p2pool

[solitude]

I got started with slush, because I read it was one of the first pools and one of the most popular.

I've recently been reading about other pools, and I like how a pool like p2pool operates.

My question is, is using a pool like p2pool much of a hassle?  If I want to stop mining to play a game, is it a PITA to start it up again?  I read SupaDupa's guide to using it, and it looks like there's a lot of configuration.

I like how I can just click "Start Mining" with GUIminer/slush and I'm good to go.

Also, will my overall bitcoins received with p2pool be less than with slush?  I currently get about 270 Mhash/sec.

Thanks for any replies

[Red Emerald]

I got started with slush, because I read it was one of the first pools and one of the most popular.

I've recently been reading about other pools, and I like how a pool like p2pool operates.

My question is, is using a pool like p2pool much of a hassle?  If I want to stop mining to play a game, is it a PITA to start it up again?  I read SupaDupa's guide to using it, and it looks like there's a lot of configuration.

I like how I can just click "Start Mining" with GUIminer/slush and I'm good to go.

Also, will my overall bitcoins received with p2pool be less than with slush?  I currently get about 270 Mhash/sec.

Thanks for any replies

The payouts will be essentially the same.

You can connect to a public pool if you don't have the time/know-how/desire to setup your own.  Running your own (efficiently) requires a stable internet connection with a relatively fast hard drive.

The public list is here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=66182.0

Rather than pointing your miner at http://<username>:<password>@mining.bitcoin.cz:8332/ you could point to my pool at http://<payout address>:x@p2pool.stitthappens.com:8336/ or any of the other public pools.

[solitude]

Will I literally be getting the exact same amount of bitcoins if I switch from slush to p2pool?  What about the 2% fee?

[Red Emerald]

Will I literally be getting the exact same amount of bitcoins if I switch from slush to p2pool?  What about the 2% fee?

Payouts are partially based on luck.  Both pools pay the transaction fees.  In the long run, you'll make more with p2pool since you aren't paying as much or any fee.

My public pool has a .5% fee and .5% donation to the author.  There are some free ones although I just realized that the stats pages don't show the donation percent for the pool.

[merfakos]

This is just to share my 2 cents. I have joined p2pool for about a week now after being in deepbit pool for some time. Variance in p2pool is pretty big... Sometimes the pools gets lots of block in a day, sometimes not. You easily get the impression of lower payouts but in the long run it does seem to even out....

[Red Emerald]

This is just to share my 2 cents. I have joined p2pool for about a week now after being in deepbit pool for some time. Variance in p2pool is pretty big... Sometimes the pools gets lots of block in a day, sometimes not. You easily get the impression of lower payouts but in the long run it does seem to even out....

In the long run, p2pool will definitely be better than deepbit since they take something like 10% for a fee.

This last weeks variance of p2pool has been less than lucky, but over the last 30 days and 90 days they've have great luck (better than slush even).

http://p2pool.info/

http://mining.bitcoin.cz/stats/

[merfakos]

In the long run, p2pool will definitely be better than deepbit since they take something like 10% for a fee.

More like 3% for Proportional payout and 7% for Pay Per Share payout at the time of this writing. P2Pool has only 0.5% sent to the guy that solved the block which is way better. That being said there are other complications with P2Pool such as DOAs and efficiency rate which are somewhat more difficult to grasp than in other simpler pools.

This last weeks variance of p2pool has been less than lucky

It was average in the end, but the funny thing was that for ~ 2d 22h no block was found and I was wondering what was going on... 

[solitude]

Any other thoughts?

[Red Emerald]

It comes down to how much personal control you want over the mining.

If you just want to turn your miner on and then trust someone else deal with all the hard parts, slush or a public p2pool is a good way to go.

If you want more control of what you are mining, set up your own bitcoind and p2pool node.