What is Matched or Certified Dual Channel Memory?

Companies like Corsair, OCZ, and Mushkin produce what they call "dual channel" memory, or Dual Channel Kits. These are sold in pairs, so for instance you might buy a 512MB or 2x256MB Dual Channel Kit, which consists of 2 sticks 256MB DDR memory paired together by the manufacturer.

Companies don't just throw two sticks of RAM together to produce these kits, but they don't necessarily produce a totally different batch of RAM either. Testing or qualifying Dual Channel memory might involve something as simple as a QA technician booting up a pair of RAM in a Dual Channel motherboard and ensuring they work together under a set of conditions, or it could be more complicated, including so called "SPD" optimisations and even chip selection (we're inclined not to put much trust in the latter claims).

For your purposes, you should assume that Dual Channel memory is qualified through testing. Companies will claim that every pair of Dual Channel memory is tested prior to being packaged.