title: SQL performance: Is there any performance hit using NVarchar(MAX) instead of NVarChar(200)
body: <p>I am wondering if there is any disadvantage on defining a column of type nvarchar(max) instead of giving it a (smaller) maximum size.</p>
  
  <p>I read somewhere that if the column value has more than 4?KB the remaining data will be added to an "overflow" area, which is ok.</p>
  
  <p>I'm creating a table where most of the time the text will be of a few lines, but I was wondering if there's any advantage in setting a lower limit and then adding a validation to avoid breaking that limit.</p>
  
  <p>Is there any restriction on the creation of indexes with nvarchar(max) column, or anything that pays for having to add the restriction on the size limit?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>