Compare these 2 queries. Is it faster to put the filter on the join criteria or in the were clause. I have always felt that it is faster on the join criteria because it reduces the result set at the soonest possible moment, but I don't know for sure.

I'm going to build some tests to see, but I also wanted to get opinions on which would is clearer to read as well.

Query 1

SELECT      *
FROM        TableA a
INNER JOIN  TableXRef x
        ON  a.ID = x.TableAID
INNER JOIN  TableB b
        ON  x.TableBID = b.ID
WHERE       a.ID = 1            /* <-- Filter here? */

Query 2

SELECT      *
FROM        TableA a
INNER JOIN  TableXRef x
        ON  a.ID = x.TableAID
        AND a.ID = 1            /* <-- Or filter here? */
INNER JOIN  TableB b
        ON  x.TableBID = b.ID