• No, the optimiser's the same in all the editions. Express won't run queries in parallel (it's limited to one CPU) for example, standard has memory limits, etc.

    The display of the plan is Management Studio, not the SQL engine.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

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