Step 1: Concept
The property of commutativity in a ring requires $a \cdot b = b \cdot a$ for all elements.
Step 2: Meaning
Matrix multiplication is generally order-dependent.
Step 3: Analysis
For $2 \times 2$ matrices $A$ and $B$, $AB$ is usually not equal to $BA$. For example, $\begin{pmatrix} 0 & 1 \\ 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix} \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0 \\ 1 & 0 \end{pmatrix} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix}$, while reversing them gives $\begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0\\ 0 & 1 \end{pmatrix}$.
Step 4: Conclusion
Since $AB \ne BA$, the ring of $2 \times 2$ matrices is non-commutative.
Final Answer: (D)