Once upon a time there was a very noticeable difference between VGA and DVI connections on LCD monitors, but for the most part these days they're indistinguishable. The major benefit to DVI over VGA, is there's never any need for the "auto adjust" to get the image properly centered. I also believe DVI is capable of much higher resolutions, not that it matters with pretty much everything plateauing at 1080p. Also, if your video card supports it, and with the right adapter, you can use some of that excess bandwidth to stream digital audio over DVI. As far as image quality goes though, unless you really look hard, the image is going to be more or less identical.
so I bought a 23" flat screen to replace my old huge monitor. The Dell has a DVI with 24 pin and a slot with 4 pins around it. The new monitor has a DVI with 24 pins and just the slot (no 4 pins around it). Local shop sold me a DVI cable, but it only has 18 pins + slot on each end. After connecting the cable it doesn't seem to be any better than the VGA that came with the monitor. Does each end of the DVI need to be exactly the same as the connector it is plugged in to? Does it matter which graphic card the Dell has?
Thanks,
Diaen

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