I just want to extend a hearty thank you!!! to everyone who has contributed to this project so far.
I have had a blast setting up my digitalocean vps through SSH - something I haven't touched in more than a year. I am a *nix newb and this has reminded me of just how much fun it can be.
Just finished making my first build with the faster software. It says "blocks 0" on my terminal so I am assuming it just hasn't synchronized with the network yet. Once it has synchronized and I get a steady PPS I will update with my rate. I am on a 1CPU 512MB ($5/mo) instance.Getting anywhere between 98-188 PPS right now.
Edit: I am running (1) VPS and (1) here at home using one of the compiled windows -qt from the sieve thread. Win7 64 on an AMD Phenom II X4 920 mobile 1.6GHz, getting 200-416 PPS depending on my usage of the PC. Much improvement over the 30pps I was getting last night, though I have been running for about 6 hours now and haven't found a block yet.
Here's hoping my luck improves, and I will send some tips out to the kind folks who have made this possible!

So, is the $160/mo instance profitable right now? Would it find blocks faster than 32 of the $5 instances?
It looks like I'm getting the same speed as one of Kimosan's 1CPU / 1GB instances with my 1CPU / 512MB instance, but his other instance of the same size is doing 270-300PPS? What is the difference?
I'm really interested in finding the ideal price/performance point on this VPS set up.