[mashketcup]

does realtek high definition audio (laptop) support 5.1surround? 
 
if not what would it sound like if i plugged in headphones that had 5.1 surround?

 

[Roller]

It depends. Different Realtek onboard audio chips have different channel number support. There are both stereo onboard audio chips as well as multichannel onboard audio chips that support quadraphonic, 5.1 and 7.1.
 
What is your Realtek onboard audio chip model?

 

[mashketcup]

is it this?
ttp://i.imgur.com/oPqp9.jpg
if not then how do i find that out?
(its on a laptop btw)

 

[Roller]

Go to Realtek Audio Manager in Windows control panel, then click on the i button on the bottom right corner, that will tell you your audio codec version.

 

[mashketcup]

it says ALC272

 

[Roller]

IIRC, that onboard audio chip only supports stereo output, so it can't output analog multichannel audio.

 

[mashketcup]

ok thanks for the help

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Is there even any Realtek chips in laptops with 5.1 support I wonder? So far I only saw stereo support in laptops with Realtek chip (which is a bit weird as laptops only get more commonly used instead of desktop comps also at home so it makes sense to offer 5.1 support for laptop chips too).

 

[Roller]

Oh, Realtek has tons (and I mean TONS) of onboard audio chips with 5.1 and 7.1 support. It's just that computer manufacturers usually don't bother much with implementing more advanced codecs, even though the price hike at that stage is usually well below $5. But laptops do suffer much more than desktops, but implemention fails are present on both.