MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010) 16Gb RAM

Hi All

According to manufacturer specs the MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010), can only take 8Gb RAM, but according to the post below, and screenshots in the post, it can run with 16Gb RAM. Could this be due to changes in the latest Sierra O/S ?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-pro-17-inch-mid-2010-ram-question.2 011809/

(I would not took this serious if it was not for the screenshots showing 16Gb RAM)

Kind Regards