内存总是会被分配两次——或者类似的情况。由于不能调整数组的大小，这两种方法都将使用某种机制在不断增长的集合中收集数据。(好吧，这个名单本身就是一个不断增长的集合。)

List使用数组作为内部存储，并在需要时将容量增加一倍。这意味着平均2/3的项目至少被重新分配过一次，其中一半至少被重新分配过两次，一半至少被重新分配过三次，以此类推。这意味着每个项目平均被重新分配了1.3次，这并不是很大的开销。

还要记住，如果你在收集字符串，集合本身只包含对字符串的引用，字符串本身不会被重新分配。

我同意@mquander的观点，性能差异应该是微不足道的。但是，我想对它进行基准测试，所以我这样做了——结果是微不足道的。

Testing with List<T> source:
ToArray time: 1934 ms (0.01934 ms/call), memory used: 4021 bytes/array
ToList  time: 1902 ms (0.01902 ms/call), memory used: 4045 bytes/List

Testing with array source:
ToArray time: 1957 ms (0.01957 ms/call), memory used: 4021 bytes/array
ToList  time: 2022 ms (0.02022 ms/call), memory used: 4045 bytes/List

每个源数组/列表有1000个元素。所以你可以看到时间和记忆的差异都可以忽略不计。

我的结论是:您还可以使用ToList()，因为List<T>提供了比数组更多的功能，除非几个字节的内存确实对您很重要。

您应该根据理想的设计选择来决定使用ToList还是ToArray。如果您想要一个只能通过索引迭代和访问的集合，请选择ToArray。如果您希望以后能够轻松地从集合中添加和删除额外的功能，那么可以使用ToList(并不是说您不能添加到数组中，但这通常不是合适的工具)。

如果性能很重要，您还应该考虑哪些操作会更快。实际上，您不会调用ToList或ToArray一百万次，但可能会对获得的集合进行一百万次操作。在这方面[]更好，因为List<>是[]，有一些开销。查看这个线程的一些效率比较:List<int>或int[]

在我自己不久前的测试中，我发现ToArray更快。我不确定这些测试有多偏颇。然而，性能差异是如此微不足道，只有在循环运行这些查询数百万次时才能明显看出。

一种选择是添加自己的扩展方法，该方法返回一个只读的ICollection<T>。当您既不想使用数组/列表的索引属性，也不想从列表中添加/删除时，这可能比使用ToList或ToArray更好。

public static class EnumerableExtension
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Causes immediate evaluation of the linq but only if required.
    /// As it returns a readonly ICollection, is better than using ToList or ToArray
    /// when you do not want to use the indexing properties of an IList, or add to the collection.
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
    /// <param name="enumerable"></param>
    /// <returns>Readonly collection</returns>
    public static ICollection<T> Evaluate<T>(this IEnumerable<T> enumerable)
    {
        //if it's already a readonly collection, use it
        var collection = enumerable as ICollection<T>;
        if ((collection != null) && collection.IsReadOnly)
        {
            return collection;
        }
        //or make a new collection
        return enumerable.ToList().AsReadOnly();
    }
}

单元测试:

[TestClass]
public sealed class EvaluateLinqTests
{
    [TestMethod]
    public void EvalTest()
    {
        var list = new List<int> {1, 2, 3};
        var linqResult = list.Select(i => i);
        var linqResultEvaluated = list.Select(i => i).Evaluate();
        list.Clear();
        Assert.AreEqual(0, linqResult.Count());
        //even though we have cleared the underlying list, the evaluated list does not change
        Assert.AreEqual(3, linqResultEvaluated.Count());
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public void DoesNotSaveCreatingListWhenHasListTest()
    {
        var list = new List<int> {1, 2, 3};
        var linqResultEvaluated = list.Evaluate();
        //list is not readonly, so we expect a new list
        Assert.AreNotSame(list, linqResultEvaluated);
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public void SavesCreatingListWhenHasReadonlyListTest()
    {
        var list = new List<int> {1, 2, 3}.AsReadOnly();
        var linqResultEvaluated = list.Evaluate();
        //list is readonly, so we don't expect a new list
        Assert.AreSame(list, linqResultEvaluated);
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public void SavesCreatingListWhenHasArrayTest()
    {
        var list = new[] {1, 2, 3};
        var linqResultEvaluated = list.Evaluate();
        //arrays are readonly (wrt ICollection<T> interface), so we don't expect a new object
        Assert.AreSame(list, linqResultEvaluated);
    }

    [TestMethod]
    [ExpectedException(typeof (NotSupportedException))]
    public void CantAddToResultTest()
    {
        var list = new List<int> {1, 2, 3};
        var linqResultEvaluated = list.Evaluate();
        Assert.AreNotSame(list, linqResultEvaluated);
        linqResultEvaluated.Add(4);
    }

    [TestMethod]
    [ExpectedException(typeof (NotSupportedException))]
    public void CantRemoveFromResultTest()
    {
        var list = new List<int> {1, 2, 3};
        var linqResultEvaluated = list.Evaluate();
        Assert.AreNotSame(list, linqResultEvaluated);
        linqResultEvaluated.Remove(1);
    }
}

除非您只是需要一个数组来满足其他约束，否则您应该使用ToList。在大多数情况下，ToArray会比ToList分配更多的内存。

两者都使用数组进行存储，但是ToList有一个更灵活的约束。它需要数组至少与集合中的元素数量一样大。如果数组更大，这不是问题。但是ToArray需要数组的大小精确到元素的数量。

为了满足这个约束，ToArray通常比ToList多做一次分配。一旦它有了一个足够大的数组，它就会分配一个完全正确大小的数组，并将元素复制回该数组中。唯一可以避免这种情况的情况是当数组的增长算法恰好与需要存储的元素数量一致时(绝对是少数)。

EDIT

有几个人问我在List<T>值中有额外的未使用内存的后果。

这是一个合理的担忧。如果创建的集合寿命很长，在创建后从未被修改过，并且有很高的机会落在Gen2堆中，那么您可能会更好地预先分配额外的ToArray。

总的来说，我发现这种情况比较罕见。更常见的情况是，大量ToArray调用被立即传递给其他短期内存使用，在这种情况下，ToList显然更好。

这里的关键是分析，分析，再分析更多。

老问题，但总是有新的提问者。

根据来源的System.Linq。可枚举，ToList只返回一个新的List(source)，而ToArray使用一个新的Buffer<T>(source).ToArray()返回一个T[]。

关于内存分配:

当运行在IEnumerable<T> only对象上时，ToArray确实比ToList多分配一次内存。但是在大多数情况下您不必关心它，因为GC将在需要时进行垃圾收集。

关于运行时效率:

那些质疑这个问题的人可以在自己的机器上运行下面的代码，然后就会得到答案。

class PersonC
{
    public Guid uuid;
    public string name;
    public int age;
    public bool sex;
    public DateTime BirthDay;
    public double weight;
}

struct PersonS
{
    public Guid uuid;
    public string name;
    public int age;
    public bool sex;
    public DateTime BirthDay;
    public double weight;
}

class PersonT<T> : IEnumerable<T>
{
    private List<T> items;
    public PersonT(IEnumerable<T> init)
    {
        items = new List<T>(init);
    }

    public IEnumerator<T> GetEnumerator() => items.GetEnumerator();
    IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator() => items.GetEnumerator();
}

private IEnumerable<PersonC> C(int count)
{
    for (var i = 0; i < count; ++i)
    {
        var guid = Guid.NewGuid();
        var guidBytes = guid.ToByteArray(); //16 bytes
        yield return new PersonC
        {
            uuid = guid,
            name = guid.ToString(),
            age = guidBytes[0] ^ guidBytes[7],
            sex = guidBytes[14] % 2 == 0,
            BirthDay = DateTime.Now.AddDays(-guidBytes[11] * 18),
            weight = guidBytes[12] * 100
        };
    }
}

private IEnumerable<PersonS> S(int count)
{
    for (var i = 0; i < count; ++i)
    {
        var guid = Guid.NewGuid();
        var guidBytes = guid.ToByteArray(); //16 bytes
        yield return new PersonS
        {
            uuid = guid,
            name = guid.ToString(),
            age = guidBytes[0] ^ guidBytes[7],
            sex = guidBytes[14] % 2 == 0,
            BirthDay = DateTime.Now.AddDays(-guidBytes[11] * 18),
            weight = guidBytes[12] * 100
        };
    }
}

private void MakeLog(string test, List<long> log) =>
    Console.WriteLine("{0} {1} ms -> [{2}]",
        test,
        log.Average(),
        string.Join(", ", log)
    );

private void Test1(int times, int count)
{
    var test = Enumerable.Range(1, times).ToArray();

    MakeLog("C.ToList", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = C(count).ToList();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("C.ToArray", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = C(count).ToArray();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("S.ToList", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = S(count).ToList();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("S.ToArray", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = S(count).ToArray();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());
}

private void Test2(int times, int count)
{
    var test = Enumerable.Range(1, times).ToArray();

    var dataC1 = new PersonT<PersonC>(C(count));
    var dataS1 = new PersonT<PersonS>(S(count));

    MakeLog("C1.ToList", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataC1.ToList();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("C1.ToArray", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataC1.ToArray();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("S1.ToList", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataS1.ToList();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("S1.ToArray", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataS1.ToArray();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());
}

private void Test3(int times, int count)
{
    var test = Enumerable.Range(1, times).ToArray();

    var dataC2 = (ICollection<PersonC>) new List<PersonC>(C(count));
    var dataS2 = (ICollection<PersonS>) new List<PersonS>(S(count));

    MakeLog("C2.ToList", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataC2.ToList();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("C2.ToArray", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataC2.ToArray();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("S2.ToList", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataS2.ToList();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());

    MakeLog("S2.ToArray", test.Select(o =>
    {
        var sw = new Stopwatch();
        GC.Collect();
        sw.Start();
        var ret = dataS2.ToArray();
        sw.Stop();
        return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
    }).ToList());
}

private void TestMain()
{
    const int times = 100;
    const int count = 1_000_000 + 1;
    Test1(times, count);
    Test2(times, count);
    Test3(times, count);
}

我在我的机器上得到了这些结果:

Group1:

C.ToList 761.79 ms -> [775, 755, 759, 759, 756, 759, 765, 750, 757, 762, 759, 754, 757, 753, 763, 753, 759, 756, 768, 754, 763, 757, 757, 777, 780, 758, 754, 758, 762, 754, 758, 757, 763, 758, 760, 754, 761, 755, 764, 847, 952, 755, 747, 763, 760, 758, 754, 763, 761, 758, 750, 764, 757, 763, 762, 756, 753, 759, 759, 757, 758, 779, 765, 760, 760, 756, 760, 756, 755, 764, 759, 753, 757, 760, 752, 764, 758, 760, 758, 760, 755, 761, 751, 753, 761, 762, 761, 758, 759, 752, 765, 756, 760, 755, 757, 753, 760, 751, 755, 779]
C.ToArray 782.56 ms -> [783, 774, 771, 771, 773, 774, 775, 775, 772, 770, 771, 774, 771, 1023, 975, 772, 767, 776, 771, 779, 772, 779, 775, 771, 775, 773, 775, 771, 765, 774, 770, 781, 772, 771, 781, 762, 817, 770, 775, 779, 769, 774, 763, 775, 777, 769, 777, 772, 775, 778, 775, 771, 770, 774, 772, 769, 772, 769, 774, 775, 768, 775, 769, 774, 771, 776, 774, 773, 778, 769, 778, 767, 770, 787, 783, 779, 771, 768, 805, 780, 779, 767, 773, 771, 773, 785, 1044, 853, 775, 774, 775, 771, 770, 769, 770, 776, 770, 780, 821, 770]
S.ToList 704.2 ms -> [687, 702, 709, 691, 694, 710, 696, 698, 700, 694, 701, 719, 706, 694, 702, 699, 699, 703, 704, 701, 703, 705, 697, 707, 691, 697, 707, 692, 721, 698, 695, 700, 704, 700, 701, 710, 700, 705, 697, 711, 694, 700, 695, 698, 701, 692, 696, 702, 690, 699, 708, 700, 703, 714, 701, 697, 700, 699, 694, 701, 697, 696, 699, 694, 709, 1068, 690, 706, 699, 699, 695, 708, 695, 704, 704, 700, 695, 704, 695, 696, 702, 700, 710, 708, 693, 697, 702, 694, 700, 706, 699, 695, 706, 714, 704, 700, 695, 697, 707, 704]
S.ToArray 742.5 ms -> [742, 743, 733, 745, 741, 724, 738, 745, 728, 732, 740, 727, 739, 740, 726, 744, 758, 732, 744, 745, 730, 739, 738, 723, 745, 757, 729, 741, 736, 724, 744, 756, 739, 766, 737, 725, 741, 742, 736, 748, 742, 721, 746, 1043, 806, 747, 731, 727, 742, 742, 726, 738, 746, 727, 739, 743, 730, 744, 753, 741, 739, 746, 728, 740, 744, 734, 734, 738, 731, 747, 736, 731, 765, 735, 726, 740, 743, 730, 746, 742, 725, 731, 757, 734, 738, 741, 732, 747, 744, 721, 742, 741, 727, 745, 740, 730, 747, 760, 737, 740]

C1.ToList 32.34 ms -> [35, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 33, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 30, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 30, 31, 31, 31, 30, 32, 31, 31, 31, 36, 31, 31, 31, 32, 30, 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 33, 32, 31, 32, 31, 31, 33, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 32, 31, 34, 38, 68, 42, 79, 33, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 30, 30, 30, 30, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 32, 33, 33, 31, 31]
C1.ToArray 56.32 ms -> [57, 56, 59, 54, 54, 55, 56, 57, 54, 54, 55, 55, 57, 56, 59, 57, 56, 58, 56, 56, 54, 56, 57, 55, 55, 55, 57, 58, 57, 58, 55, 55, 56, 55, 57, 56, 56, 59, 56, 56, 56, 56, 58, 56, 57, 56, 56, 57, 56, 55, 56, 56, 56, 59, 56, 56, 56, 55, 55, 54, 55, 54, 57, 56, 56, 56, 55, 55, 56, 56, 56, 59, 56, 56, 57, 56, 57, 56, 56, 56, 56, 62, 55, 56, 56, 56, 69, 57, 58, 56, 57, 58, 56, 57, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56]
S1.ToList 88.69 ms -> [96, 90, 90, 89, 91, 88, 89, 90, 96, 89, 89, 89, 90, 90, 90, 89, 90, 90, 89, 90, 89, 91, 89, 91, 89, 91, 89, 90, 90, 89, 87, 88, 87, 88, 87, 87, 87, 87, 88, 88, 87, 87, 89, 87, 87, 87, 91, 88, 87, 86, 89, 87, 90, 89, 89, 90, 89, 87, 87, 87, 86, 87, 88, 90, 88, 87, 87, 92, 87, 87, 88, 88, 88, 86, 86, 87, 88, 87, 87, 87, 89, 87, 89, 87, 90, 89, 89, 89, 91, 89, 90, 89, 90, 88, 90, 90, 90, 88, 89, 89]
S1.ToArray 143.26 ms -> [130, 129, 130, 131, 133, 130, 131, 130, 135, 137, 130, 136, 132, 131, 130, 131, 132, 130, 132, 136, 130, 131, 157, 153, 194, 364, 176, 189, 203, 194, 189, 192, 183, 140, 142, 147, 145, 134, 159, 158, 142, 167, 130, 143, 145, 144, 160, 154, 156, 153, 153, 164, 142, 145, 137, 134, 145, 143, 142, 135, 133, 133, 135, 134, 134, 139, 139, 133, 134, 141, 133, 132, 133, 132, 133, 131, 135, 132, 133, 132, 128, 128, 130, 132, 129, 129, 129, 129, 129, 128, 134, 129, 129, 129, 129, 128, 128, 137, 130, 131]

C2.ToList 3.25 ms -> [5, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3]
C2.ToArray 3.37 ms -> [4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 5, 4, 9, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3]
S2.ToList 37.72 ms -> [38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 40, 38, 38, 39, 39, 38, 38, 38, 38, 37, 37, 37, 37, 39, 37, 37, 39, 38, 37, 37, 37, 37, 39, 38, 37, 37, 38, 37, 38, 37, 37, 38, 37, 37, 37, 38, 37, 37, 36, 37, 38, 37, 39, 37, 39, 38, 37, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 37, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 37, 38, 37, 37, 38, 37, 37, 39, 41, 37, 38, 38, 37, 37, 37, 37, 38, 37, 37, 37, 40, 37, 37, 37, 37, 39, 38]
S2.ToArray 38.86 ms -> [39, 37, 39, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 39, 39, 38, 38, 38, 39, 37, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 37, 37, 38, 37, 37, 38, 38, 40, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 40, 38, 39, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 38, 39, 39, 37, 38, 38, 39, 71, 78, 37, 37, 37, 39, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 38, 39, 38, 38, 38]

Group2上:

C.ToList 756.81 ms
C.ToArray 774.21 ms
S.ToList 709.7 ms
S.ToArray 753.51 ms

C1.ToList 32.06 ms
C1.ToArray 56.58 ms
S1.ToList 89.43 ms
S1.ToArray 132.85 ms

C2.ToList 3.45 ms
C2.ToArray 3.36 ms
S2.ToList 41.43 ms
S2.ToArray 40.84 ms

Group3:

C.ToList 756.64 ms
C.ToArray 771.56 ms
S.ToList 705.42 ms
S.ToArray 749.59 ms

C1.ToList 31.45 ms
C1.ToArray 57.03 ms
S1.ToList 91.26 ms
S1.ToArray 129.77 ms

C2.ToList 3.26 ms
C2.ToArray 3.29 ms
S2.ToList 41.57 ms
S2.ToArray 40.69 ms

Group4:

C.ToList 729.65 ms -> [749, 730, 721, 719, 723, 743, 721, 724, 727, 722, 716, 725, 723, 726, 718, 722, 731, 722, 723, 725, 723, 722, 728, 726, 728, 718, 726, 1088, 788, 737, 729, 710, 730, 728, 717, 723, 728, 721, 722, 728, 722, 736, 723, 729, 732, 724, 726, 727, 728, 728, 726, 726, 725, 727, 725, 728, 728, 718, 724, 725, 726, 724, 726, 729, 727, 722, 722, 725, 725, 728, 724, 727, 738, 717, 726, 723, 725, 725, 727, 724, 720, 726, 726, 723, 727, 730, 723, 721, 725, 727, 727, 733, 720, 722, 722, 725, 722, 725, 728, 726]
C.ToArray 788.36 ms -> [748, 740, 742, 797, 1090, 774, 781, 787, 784, 786, 786, 782, 781, 781, 784, 783, 783, 781, 783, 787, 783, 784, 775, 789, 784, 785, 778, 774, 781, 783, 786, 781, 780, 788, 778, 785, 777, 781, 786, 782, 781, 787, 782, 787, 784, 773, 783, 782, 781, 777, 783, 781, 785, 788, 777, 776, 784, 784, 783, 789, 778, 781, 791, 768, 779, 783, 781, 787, 786, 781, 784, 781, 785, 781, 780, 809, 1155, 780, 790, 789, 783, 776, 785, 783, 786, 787, 782, 782, 787, 777, 779, 784, 783, 776, 786, 775, 782, 779, 784, 784]
S.ToList 705.54 ms -> [690, 705, 709, 708, 702, 707, 703, 696, 703, 702, 700, 703, 700, 707, 705, 699, 697, 703, 695, 698, 707, 697, 711, 710, 699, 700, 708, 707, 693, 710, 704, 691, 702, 700, 703, 700, 705, 700, 703, 695, 709, 705, 698, 699, 709, 700, 699, 704, 691, 705, 703, 700, 708, 1048, 710, 706, 706, 692, 702, 705, 695, 701, 710, 697, 698, 706, 705, 707, 707, 695, 698, 704, 698, 699, 705, 698, 703, 702, 701, 697, 702, 702, 704, 703, 699, 707, 703, 705, 701, 717, 698, 695, 713, 696, 708, 705, 697, 699, 700, 698]
S.ToArray 745.01 ms -> [751, 743, 727, 734, 736, 745, 739, 750, 739, 750, 758, 739, 744, 738, 730, 744, 745, 739, 744, 750, 733, 735, 743, 731, 749, 748, 727, 746, 749, 731, 737, 803, 1059, 756, 769, 748, 740, 745, 741, 746, 749, 732, 741, 742, 732, 744, 746, 737, 742, 739, 733, 744, 741, 729, 746, 760, 725, 741, 764, 739, 750, 751, 727, 745, 738, 727, 735, 741, 720, 736, 740, 733, 741, 746, 731, 749, 756, 740, 738, 736, 732, 741, 741, 733, 741, 744, 736, 742, 742, 735, 743, 746, 729, 748, 765, 743, 734, 742, 728, 749]

C1.ToList 32.27 ms -> [36, 31, 31, 32, 31, 32, 31, 30, 32, 30, 30, 30, 34, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 38, 51, 68, 57, 35, 30, 31, 31, 30, 30, 33, 30, 31, 34, 31, 34, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 30, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 33, 31, 31, 32, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30, 33, 30, 33, 32, 31, 30, 31, 31, 32, 32, 31, 35, 31, 34, 31, 31, 32, 31, 31, 32, 31, 32, 31, 31, 35, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32]
C1.ToArray 56.72 ms -> [58, 56, 57, 57, 59, 58, 58, 57, 56, 59, 57, 55, 55, 54, 56, 55, 56, 56, 57, 59, 56, 55, 58, 56, 55, 55, 55, 55, 58, 58, 55, 57, 57, 56, 57, 57, 57, 57, 59, 59, 56, 57, 56, 57, 57, 56, 57, 59, 58, 56, 57, 57, 57, 58, 56, 56, 59, 56, 59, 57, 57, 57, 57, 59, 57, 56, 57, 56, 58, 56, 57, 56, 57, 59, 55, 58, 55, 55, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 57, 56, 56, 57, 56, 56, 57, 58, 57, 57, 57, 57, 57]
S1.ToList 90.72 ms -> [95, 90, 90, 89, 89, 89, 91, 89, 89, 87, 91, 89, 89, 89, 91, 89, 89, 89, 90, 89, 89, 90, 88, 89, 88, 90, 89, 90, 89, 89, 90, 90, 89, 89, 90, 91, 89, 91, 89, 90, 89, 89, 90, 91, 89, 89, 89, 89, 89, 89, 90, 89, 89, 89, 90, 89, 90, 89, 91, 89, 90, 89, 90, 89, 90, 89, 96, 89, 90, 89, 89, 89, 89, 89, 90, 89, 89, 89, 90, 87, 89, 90, 90, 91, 89, 91, 89, 89, 90, 91, 90, 89, 93, 144, 149, 90, 90, 89, 89, 89]
S1.ToArray 131.4 ms -> [130, 128, 127, 134, 129, 129, 130, 136, 131, 130, 132, 132, 133, 131, 132, 131, 133, 132, 130, 131, 132, 131, 130, 133, 133, 130, 130, 131, 131, 131, 132, 134, 131, 131, 132, 131, 132, 131, 134, 131, 131, 130, 131, 131, 130, 132, 129, 131, 131, 131, 132, 131, 133, 134, 131, 131, 132, 132, 131, 133, 131, 131, 130, 133, 131, 130, 134, 132, 131, 132, 132, 131, 131, 134, 131, 131, 132, 132, 131, 130, 138, 130, 130, 131, 132, 132, 130, 134, 131, 131, 132, 131, 130, 132, 133, 131, 131, 131, 130, 131]

C2.ToList 3.21 ms -> [4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3]
C2.ToArray 3.22 ms -> [4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4]
S2.ToList 41.46 ms -> [42, 40, 41, 40, 42, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 40, 40, 41, 40, 40, 40, 39, 41, 41, 39, 40, 40, 43, 40, 39, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 40, 40, 40, 43, 40, 43, 75, 76, 47, 39, 40, 40, 40, 40, 42, 40, 41, 40, 40, 40, 44, 41, 40, 42, 42, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 42, 41, 40, 41, 41, 42, 42, 41, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 40, 42, 40, 42, 41, 41, 41, 43, 41, 41, 41, 41, 42, 41]
S2.ToArray 41.14 ms -> [42, 41, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 41, 42, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 42, 41, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 42, 40, 41, 40, 42, 40, 42, 41, 40, 42, 41, 41, 43, 42, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41, 40, 42, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 42, 42, 42, 41, 45, 46, 41, 40, 41, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 43, 40, 40, 40, 40, 43, 41]

Group5:

C.ToList 757.06 ms -> [770, 752, 752, 751, 778, 763, 761, 763, 747, 758, 748, 747, 754, 749, 752, 753, 756, 762, 750, 753, 756, 749, 755, 757, 755, 756, 755, 744, 753, 758, 747, 751, 759, 751, 761, 755, 746, 752, 752, 749, 746, 752, 753, 755, 752, 755, 754, 754, 966, 937, 749, 759, 748, 747, 754, 749, 755, 750, 746, 754, 757, 752, 753, 745, 758, 755, 761, 753, 751, 755, 755, 752, 746, 756, 755, 746, 742, 751, 751, 749, 752, 751, 756, 756, 755, 742, 749, 754, 749, 756, 753, 751, 754, 752, 751, 754, 753, 749, 755, 756]
C.ToArray 772.8 ms -> [766, 772, 755, 763, 758, 767, 763, 762, 761, 768, 769, 763, 770, 757, 765, 760, 766, 759, 764, 761, 760, 777, 1102, 881, 759, 765, 758, 762, 772, 761, 758, 757, 765, 769, 769, 761, 762, 762, 763, 760, 770, 764, 760, 768, 758, 766, 763, 770, 769, 761, 764, 761, 761, 767, 761, 762, 764, 757, 765, 766, 767, 771, 753, 762, 769, 768, 759, 764, 764, 760, 763, 763, 763, 763, 763, 767, 761, 771, 760, 765, 760, 758, 768, 770, 751, 771, 767, 771, 765, 763, 760, 765, 765, 769, 767, 767, 1193, 774, 767, 764]
S.ToList 704.73 ms -> [682, 708, 705, 699, 705, 704, 695, 703, 702, 699, 701, 708, 699, 702, 703, 701, 701, 699, 701, 707, 707, 700, 701, 705, 700, 697, 706, 702, 701, 706, 699, 692, 702, 697, 707, 704, 697, 698, 699, 699, 702, 703, 698, 697, 702, 703, 702, 704, 694, 697, 707, 695, 711, 710, 700, 693, 703, 699, 699, 706, 698, 701, 703, 704, 698, 706, 700, 704, 701, 699, 702, 705, 694, 698, 709, 736, 1053, 704, 694, 700, 698, 696, 701, 700, 700, 706, 706, 692, 698, 707, 703, 695, 703, 699, 694, 708, 695, 694, 706, 695]
S.ToArray 744.17 ms -> [746, 740, 725, 740, 739, 731, 746, 760, 735, 738, 740, 734, 744, 748, 737, 744, 745, 727, 736, 738, 728, 743, 745, 735, 748, 760, 739, 748, 762, 742, 741, 747, 733, 746, 758, 742, 742, 741, 724, 744, 747, 727, 740, 740, 729, 742, 757, 741, 740, 742, 726, 739, 746, 1133, 749, 737, 730, 740, 747, 733, 747, 752, 731, 747, 742, 730, 741, 749, 731, 749, 743, 730, 747, 742, 731, 737, 745, 734, 739, 735, 727, 743, 752, 731, 744, 742, 729, 740, 746, 731, 739, 746, 733, 745, 743, 733, 739, 742, 727, 737]

C1.ToList 31.71 ms -> [35, 32, 32, 30, 31, 33, 31, 32, 32, 31, 31, 32, 32, 33, 32, 31, 31, 32, 31, 32, 32, 32, 31, 32, 33, 32, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 34, 31, 31, 32, 33, 32, 32, 31, 32, 34, 32, 31, 32, 33, 31, 32, 32, 31, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 31, 31, 32, 31, 33, 30, 31, 32, 30, 30, 33, 32, 32, 34, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 31, 31, 33, 31, 32, 32, 32, 33, 32, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 32, 32, 33, 32, 31, 31, 32]
C1.ToArray 59.53 ms -> [63, 57, 58, 58, 57, 59, 59, 57, 60, 131, 127, 67, 58, 56, 59, 56, 57, 58, 58, 58, 57, 59, 60, 57, 57, 59, 60, 57, 57, 57, 58, 58, 58, 58, 57, 57, 61, 57, 58, 57, 57, 57, 57, 57, 58, 58, 58, 58, 57, 58, 59, 57, 58, 57, 57, 59, 58, 58, 59, 57, 59, 57, 56, 56, 59, 56, 56, 59, 57, 58, 58, 58, 57, 58, 59, 59, 58, 57, 58, 62, 65, 57, 57, 57, 58, 60, 59, 58, 59, 57, 58, 57, 58, 59, 58, 58, 58, 59, 60, 58]
S1.ToList 82.78 ms -> [87, 82, 83, 83, 82, 82, 83, 84, 82, 83, 84, 84, 84, 82, 82, 84, 82, 84, 83, 84, 82, 82, 82, 81, 83, 83, 83, 84, 84, 82, 82, 83, 83, 83, 82, 83, 85, 83, 82, 82, 84, 82, 82, 83, 83, 83, 82, 82, 82, 83, 82, 83, 82, 84, 82, 83, 82, 83, 82, 82, 82, 84, 82, 83, 82, 82, 86, 83, 83, 82, 83, 83, 83, 82, 84, 82, 83, 81, 82, 82, 82, 82, 83, 83, 83, 82, 83, 84, 83, 82, 83, 83, 83, 82, 83, 84, 82, 82, 83, 83]
S1.ToArray 122.3 ms -> [122, 119, 119, 120, 119, 120, 120, 121, 119, 119, 122, 120, 120, 120, 122, 120, 123, 120, 120, 120, 121, 123, 120, 120, 120, 121, 120, 121, 122, 120, 123, 119, 121, 118, 121, 120, 120, 120, 119, 124, 119, 121, 119, 120, 120, 120, 120, 120, 122, 121, 123, 230, 203, 123, 119, 119, 122, 119, 120, 120, 120, 122, 120, 121, 120, 121, 120, 121, 120, 121, 120, 120, 120, 121, 122, 121, 123, 119, 119, 119, 119, 121, 120, 120, 120, 122, 121, 122, 119, 120, 120, 121, 121, 120, 121, 120, 121, 118, 118, 118]

C2.ToList 3.43 ms -> [5, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3]
C2.ToArray 3.48 ms -> [3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3]
S2.ToList 41.47 ms -> [41, 41, 49, 67, 82, 41, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 40, 42, 42, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 40, 41, 40, 41, 40, 42, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 42, 40, 41, 40, 40, 40, 42, 40, 41, 42, 41, 42, 41, 42, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 40, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 43, 40, 40, 41, 42, 41]
S2.ToArray 40.62 ms -> [42, 41, 44, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41, 40, 41, 40, 40, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 41, 42, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 40, 42, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 40, 40, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 40, 41, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41, 40, 41, 40, 41, 42, 40, 41, 41, 42, 41, 41, 40, 41, 40, 41, 40, 41, 41, 40, 40, 40, 41, 41, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40]

由于stackoverflow对应答的字符数有限制，因此省略了Group2和Group3的示例列表。

如您所见，在大多数情况下使用ToList或ToArry并不重要。

在处理运行时计算的IEnumerable<T>对象时，如果计算带来的负载比ToList和ToArray的内存分配和复制操作重，则差异不显著(C.ToList vs .ToArray, S.ToList vs .ToArray)。

The difference can be observed only on non-runtime-calculated IEnumerable<T> only objects (C1.ToList vs C1.ToArray and S1.ToList vs S1.ToArray). But the absolute difference (<60ms) is still acceptable on an one million small object IEnumerable<T>. In fact, the difference is decided by the implementation of Enumerator<T> of IEnumerable<T>. So, if your program is really really really sensitive on this, you do have to profile, profile, profile! At last you'll probably find that the bottleneck is not on ToList or ToArray, but the detail of enumerators.

C2的结果。ToList vs C2。ToArray和S2。ToList vs S2。ToArray表明，您真的不需要关心非运行时计算的ICollection<T>对象上的ToList或ToArray。

当然，这只是在我的机器上的结果，这些操作在不同机器上的实际花费时间是不一样的，你可以在你的机器上使用上面的代码来发现。

你需要做出选择的唯一原因是，你在List<T>或T[]上有特定的需求，正如@Jeppe Stig Nielsen的回答所描述的那样。