My favourite pool is
http://eligius.stIt doesn't require you to sign-up, although it can be confusing to setup. It also has no fees (they only take transaction fees from found blocks), is hop-proof, and it supports merged mining with NMC.
I also use Eligius with
http://gpumax.com to maximize my profits (thread:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=55819.0 ).
For mining software, I recommend cgminer, as it is the fastest mining software I tried, and allows you to control your temps + overclock as well.
Alright thanks mate.
I think I'll join that pool.