Importance of matched sticks

[wacki]

My friend is getting a computer from monarch and they insist on buying matched ram (sets).

I've always mixed and matched and never had a problem. How important is having a set?

 

[Matthias99]

Not at all. Your memory controller has no way to know if they're "matched" or not.

Any two DIMMs of equal size that can run at identical speed/timings should, in theory, work just fine in dual-channel operation.

 

[maluckey]

Not much difference provide the RAM sticks are rated the same. When overclocking it becomes an issue if the actual chips aren't the same.

I used to run an overclocked BH-5/BH-6 combo without too much issue, but when I tried the CH-5/BH-5 mix at stock FSB it crased as soon as I tried an operation that stressed the RAM.