Grant Fritchey (10/29/2007)
Everyone else has covered this for the most part, but I don't mind adding one bit of information. Table variables, unlike temporary tables, do not have statistics created on them. This means that they are treated as if they have one row for any joins or searches done against them. When they only have a few rows, this doesn't matter, but when they have hundreds or thousands of rows, it makes a huge difference in the execution plans and the performance. It's just something to keep in mind.
Just to make clear, it isn't JUST about the number of rows you put into a table variable/temp table that matters. I can also be the actual VALUE(s) therein. For example, if you have a table variable with just 1 row, and field1's value is 'abc' and you join that table to another table on field1, you can get horrible performance if the data in the joined table is skewed such that a large percentage of the values are 'abc' due to nested loop plan. A temp table could have stats on field1 and discover that a hash/merge join would be much more efficient.
Best,
Kevin G. Boles
SQL Server Consultant
SQL MVP 2007-2012
TheSQLGuru on googles mail service