When You Shouldn't Use Await Async in .NET

Summary

This analysis debunks the claim that synchronous methods are always preferable to async await in .NET, specifically when dealing with large NVarMax SQL Server fields. After populating a database with 100,000 records containing long strings, a performance test showed the synchronous `ToList()` taking 8.8 seconds while the async `ToListAsync()` was significantly faster, suggesting async await remains the recommended approach in most scenarios. The takeaway is to thoroughly benchmark and test claims rather than blindly adopting them, especially when established best practices like async await offer clear performance benefits.