PhoneGap Online vs PhoneGap & Eclipse

As a newer user, I have been toying with the PhoneGap online build mode where using the information about doing the export, zipping and uploading to get my different builds for deployment. But I can't help but wonder if there is a benefit (for a newbie user) to trying the other route of downloading the PhoneGap software, installing Eclipse etc. If the two are generally equal in terms of performance my app will have out the door then I'm ok with that answer. I can imagine the 2nd option allows for a greater level of optimization but for a newer user I am not sure how difficult that would be without advanced knowledge of (something else). So in a nutshell, am I losing out on "performance" aka fps in my app build because I am going the online build route versus the other option. Any and all input is appreciated!!!

You should use PhoneGap Build. There's no benefit to doing it the "manual" way. It will involve installing and configuring hundreds of megabytes of software (often across different OSs to cover all platforms), and the end result will be identical. FWIW, we only support users using PhoneGap Build, we cannot offer assistance if you go the Eclipse route.

Thank you very much for the reply Ashley! I was getting worried with all the views and no response :)