Replacing/adding video card

[02bin3]

I have just purchased a refurbished Lenovo desktop, 64 bit, Windows Home Premium, 6 GB memory & 1 TB HD.  Unfortunately, when I ordered it I forgot to find out whether it would take 2 monitors, or not, and from what I can see, it won’t.  I have a dual monitor GeForce 220 video card on my old computer (2.5 years old) and I was wondering if I could move it from the old computer to the new one?  All that it gives in the specs for the Lenovo for graphics is:  GPU/VPU Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD.  I have no idea if that refers to the video card or not.  I’ve done some research and found that it is better if the new video card is not the same manufacturer as the one that is in the computer.  Now, if it is possible to move the video card to the new computer, assuming that it will fit into an available slot with compatible pin set up, how can I download drivers for the new/old video card if I can’t get online because the video card needs a driver?  Or would I be better off buying a brand new dual video card and do they come with a CD for drivers?  I know for some of you out there that these seems like dumb questions, but please keep in mind that this is a whole new territory for me.  I love my computer and would be the first one standing in line to sign up for a course in building & understanding computers, however, our adult education courses in this area only cover how to use Microsoft Office or Photo Shop.  Computer Hope has been my saving Grace in dealing with any problems I’ve had with my computers over the years.  Thanks for wading through this post.

[patio]

A) Find out what motherboard is in the PC...and
B) Find out what slot type the vid card is...

If they are both PCIExpress (most likely ) it will work.

[02bin3]

I called Lenovo and they told me that the computer has an Intel HD 2000 video card that apparently is an integral part of the CPU.  (I hope I'm getting this right.)  They said that this video card could handle dual monitors if I got an "adapter".  On the back of the computer there appears to be one vertical slot that has 5 USB ports, a LAN port, 3 plug-ins for speakers, 2 round receptors for Mouse/Keyboard, and a 15 pin blue VGA connecter.  What sort of "adapter" would I be looking for to enable dual monitors?  Thank you,

[Transfusion]

Yeah you're getting this right-the Intel HD series are integrated on-die GPUs.
The "slot" you mention is actually the I/O Panel.    What we want to know is the model of the computer, and whether the computer's motherboard has PCIe X16 slots that you can fit your graphics card into.


The longest slots are PCIe X16. The bottom-most slot in the picture is standard PCI. The shortest slot between the PCIe X16 slots is PCIe X1. The topmost slot is PCIe X4. Graphics cards will only fit into the PCIe X16 slot. Any graphics card these days will do dual monitor. In fact, what I would do is just put your GT 220 straight in because it provides better video acceleration over your HD 2000 and will do dual monitor without a hitch.

If you want to do dual monitor with only one VGA port on your HD 2000 you'll have to get one of these: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=aff-cs-360chromium&q=USB+to+video+adapter&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4892653317943015340&sa=X&ei=j9HWT5TnK4fF0QG3wfWQAw&ved=0CNwBEPMCMAA
but be warned: any sort of basic video will stutter and be unwatchable. Adobe Flash is out of the question. Office apps should be fine, though...

Also, VGA is not dual-link, all a VGA splitter(that plugs into the VGA port) serves to do is duplicate the signal, and you'll end up with the same picture on the both monitors.

[02bin3]

The Model is:  Lenovo IdeaCentre K330B 7747-XF1 desktop Intel Pentium Dual-Core G620 2.6 GHz, 6GB DDR3, 1 TB HHD & Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Thank you for your previous information

[patio]

You haven't answered the questions...

[02bin3]

Sorry for taking so long to get back to my original post, but I wanted to thank all of you who contributed ideas and directions as to what to do.  I ended up buying a new GeForce dual video card, watched a couple of youtube videos on how to install video cards and the toughest thing was trying to get the metal plate off the slot in the back of the computer.  They all seem to be different.  It is up and running, and again, thanks for your input.  Your help saved me $50 as that is what Best Buy wanted to install it.

[patio]

Send the check in anytime...
Glad to hear you're fixed up...

[Computer_Commando]

... the toughest thing was trying to get the metal plate off the slot in the back of the computer...

You only have to break out the metal plate, although the pic shows an existing graphics card in the PCI-e slot.

[02bin3]

Breaking the plate out wasn't all that easy as it is in some other towers.  After getting very frustrated bending this piece of metal back and forth for quite a while and getting no where, I looked inside the box and there was this weird looking 4 legged "spider" like affair that spanned all the extra slots, but to their left as viewed from inside the box.  I sort of pinched that and it released a "door" that swung open and not only did it release the plate but it also made room to fit the video card inside and once the "door" was closed it secured the card and there was no need to screw it in securely as some instructions had said to do.  Thank you for your follow-up, Computer Commando.

[patio]

I'd still use the screw as it serves a s a ground on many cards...

[02bin3]

Actually, I would have screwed it in also, but there wasn't any screw with the card, so I figured that  this particular case maker must figure that the contact between the card and the metal door/fastener was sufficient for grounding.  Just an assumption on my part because "sparks" aren't exactly something that I understand all that well. 
One thing I did notice when installing the video card is that there aren't any more slots on the mother board to add anything else.   There was only that one PCIe X16 slot.                Thank you

[Computer_Commando]

The bracket is not supposed to be used as a ground, it provides RFI shielding to maintain FCC compliance.  Most motherboards only have 1 PCI-e x 16 slot, especially OEM ones.  Retail ones can have more.  The connectors are one of the most expensive components on the motherboard.  Gotta cut everywhere they can on a $50 motherboard.  The screwless cases are favored by the OEM's, speeds the assembly, i.e. saves money.