SQL Rowcount vs Top

Question

What is the difference between

Set Rowcount X

And

Select Top X *
From Z

in TSQL?

Answer 1

Top can do a few more things for you. For one, you can specify a percentage, instead of an integer. You can also handle situations where ties in column values occur.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189463.aspx