Well, its time now again for all DBAs and System Administrators out there to do some real-world testing on their SQL Server 2008 instance platform, service pack 3 for SQL Server 2008 is released now. If you are already testing the CTP version then its not a big issue to perform the test and upgrade the existing instances of 2008 version.

Once you apply the SP3 for SQL Server 2008 the version will be 10.00.5500.00 and also the download page clearly states the key enhancements out this SP3 release:

• Enhanced upgrade experience from previous versions of SQL Server to SQL Server 2008 SP3. In addition, we have increased the performance & reliability of the setup experience.
• In SQL Server Integration Services logs will now show the total number of rows sent in Data Flows.
• Enhanced warning messages when creating the maintenance plan if the Shrink Database option is enabled.
• Resolving database issue with transparent data encryption enabled and making it available even if certificate is dropped.
• Optimized query outcomes when indexed Spatial Data Type column is referenced by DTA (Database Tuning Advisor).
• Superior user experience with Sequence Functions (e.g Row_Numbers()) in a Parallel execution plan.

However I would recommend to go through the detailed list of new features and improvements that are included in SQL Server 2008 SP3, review the Release Notes. documentation link. Further this SP3 for SQL Server 2008 contains the cumulative updates of SQL Server 2008 SP2 cumulative update package 1 to 4, and fixes to issues that have been reported through our customer feedback platforms. These include supportability enhancements and issues that have been reported through Windows Error Reporting.

To download the respective platform service pack file go to:SQL Server 2008 SP3 and for Express version go to SQL Server 2008 SP3 Express link.