SQL Optimization: how many columns on a table?

Question

The current project that I\'m working on have table with 126 columns and the least that i saw is at least 50 columns. Should a table hold less columns per table or separate

Answer 1

Generally it's better to design your tables first to model the data requirements and to satisfy rules of normalization. Then worry about optimizations like how many pages it takes to store a row, etc.

I agree with other posters here that the large number of columns is a potential red flag that your table is not properly normalized. But it might be fine in this case. We can't tell from your description.

In any case, splitting the table up just because the large number of columns makes you uneasy is not the right remedy. Is this really causing any defects or performance bottleneck? You need to measure to be sure, not suppose.