indexes and hashing

[Atrix Wolfe]

hello, im considering setting an index on a text (50) column we have in a table.  We have to do quite a few sget()'s on this column so it runs slow under some circumstances and am looking to speed it up.  My question is 2 fold i guess...first of all...are there other ways besides indexing to speed up such a column?  And my second question is that when i create an index on this column it asks how many of the characters i want to hash and that the rest will be preserved.  I know what hashing is...taking a string of data, putting it through a function and the result is a smaller peice of data (im assuming is used as the index value?) that should be statisticly balanced for random input.  I was wondering though in such a situation is it better to have more of it hashed or less? and in general...what are the pros and cons of hasing more as opposed to less?   Thanx, tryin to expand my r:mind (; -Atrix