Binary sort order is the fastest sort order option. The following table shows the approximate decrease in sort order performance, relative to binary order, for each sort order. The operation evaluated involved string comparisons on character fields.
Sort order | Percent slower |
Dictionary order, case-sensitive | 20% |
Dictionary order, case-insensitive, uppercase preference | 20% |
Dictionary order, case-insensitive (no uppercase preference) | 20% |
Dictionary order, case-insensitive, accent-insensitive | 35% |
The percentages in the table are approximate. The overall performance difference between sort orders varies significantly depending on the types of operations and the types of data used. For more information, see Microsoft SQL Server Setup.