Alert: 3 year old thread.
Even as a single user, you cannot guarantee that SQL will return data in a particular order without an ORDER BY. If, however there is an ORDER BY, and SQL can use an index to retrieve the data ordered, it avoids a sort operation.
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