want to get all out of new logitech z5500 5.1 speakers

i got logitechs z5500 5.1 speaker system recently, and was freaked out when i couldnt get sound out of all speakers. eventually i got all the speakers to respond, but only after selecting "speaker fill" in the realtek hd audio manager.

i have never owned more than a 2 speaker system before, so i cannot say that i know if everything is working as well as it should. the speaker test that was built in, as well as a test from the realtek manager both showed all speakers were working. yet i am not sure that my best wishes and that speaker fill option are all i need to make these speakers work to the best of their ability.
games and movies seem to have spacial recognition etc.

i guess what i am more than likely failing to ask is, can anyone tell me if this realtek program is sufficient. also what i should look for/expect from a 5.1 system if it is operating to its best ability(like is sound supposed to be as loud or softer in the back. is it all subjective, etc...)

thanks

 

Not all games and movies have 5.1 surround sound capablities, and if they do, they are usually not enabled by default. You'd have to access the options menu(s), and enabled 5.1 surround sound to get "full use" from the speakers. I haven't set up a 5.1 speaker set in awhile so I don't remember the particulars, but I know that you have to plug certain speakers in to a certain color jack on the back of the PC. A regular 2.0 speaker set (just 2 desktop speakers or headphones) simply uses the green jack, but a 5.1 set will use at least 3 jacks: one for the center channel/subwoofer, one for the left, one for the right. More sophisticated settings would have separate jacks for front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right, plus the center channel/subwoofer.