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I have not too old notebook Dell Inspiron 15 3542 with CPU Celeron 2957U. This CPU support maximum 16Gb of RAM. But that notebook have only single slot for one DDR3L RAM. According to the specification, the CPU has two channels. Can I put one 16GB of SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 MHz memory in that single slot or I can only put there only half of maximum amount (8GB) of memory?

I don't want to believe Dell forum because personally I don't understand why this limitation is being and I would like to know more details for understanding.

The question is general and do not according to only defined model of notebook. I would like to know is it possible to set maximum amount of memory in the single slot if CPU is support of multiple channels? I know that is not optimal for performance, but for me is important to understand the possibility in general.

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    Per the specs for a Dell Inspiron 15 3542, 8GB is the max supported per slot (pg 9)
    – JW0914
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 12:43

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The size of stick you can fit will depend on the actual memory banks supported by the processor.

Each memory controller in the CPU will accept up to a particular sized memory stick. Each memory controller is fully independent and will have separate pins on the CPU along with traces on the motherboard.

The "total" memory advised by Intel is assuming that both memory controllers are in use. On top of that it may also assume that each memory controller has two sticks of RAM connected for the "absolute maximum". You can get dual-rank memory which, according to Crucial is roughly analogous to two sticks of RAM.

The reason Intel don't advise a "memory per slot" is because it depends on the type of memory and how the motherboard is wired up and, potentially, the memory code loaded into the processor when the motherboard does it's power up sequence. Whatever they advise could be wrong, or dependent on certain conditions they can't control.

All Intel can tell you is what they designed it to support in total. If Intel say their maximum is 16GB for the entire processor and that they have 2 memory channels then I would assume the largest amount of memory I can put on one channel is 8GB.

I would hope that the motherboard manufacturer then set things up right and let me use 8GB DIMMs, but I wouldn't bet on it.

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Thing about Crucial is, they know their stuff. They make their living out of knowing their stuff… so if they're not offering 16GB you could be reasonably sure it's because it won't work.

If you're unsure as to whether to believe Crucial's knowledge, double check with another company who also know their stuff, eg Kingston - https://www.kingston.com/unitedkingdom/en/memory/search?model=88990&devicetype=3&mfr=DEL&line=Inspiron

They agree, so you can be >99% certain it won't take a 16GB stick.

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  • My first think was that Crucial and Kingston DB could be out-of-date. Ok about Dell. You were very persuasive. How about general possibility: maximum amount of RAM in one slot within multichannel CPU?
    – Dennis V
    Commented Jul 9, 2021 at 10:16
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    The quoted 'maximum number of memory channels' is how it's capable of supporting memory interleave. As you only have one slot, it's a moot point. See this for an explanation of interleave -intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/support/articles/000005657/… Crucial & Kingston's database is extremely unlikely to be out of date on an 8-year-old processor.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jul 9, 2021 at 11:20
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    The manufacturer may only qualify 8GB modules, but you can be sure someone like Crucial have tested 16s. I have several machines from 2010 - 2012, all manufacturer qualified to take 8x8GB sticks in dual channel… they actually will take 6x16GB in triple channel, or 8x16 in dual..
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jul 9, 2021 at 12:19
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    @DennisV.R. - There is a 100% chance your CPU doesn’t supports 16GB DDR3 modules. The largest size for a processor from 2013 would be a 8 GB DDR3 module
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 9, 2021 at 13:17
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    @DennisV.R. supporting Ramhounds comment my answer over here includes a Wikipedia citation that essentially states that Intel had a hardware limitation that meant that any processor made before 2013 could support 8GB DIMMs at most. 16GB simply won't work.
    – Mokubai ♦
    Commented Jul 9, 2021 at 15:28

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