DVI Cables

Digital Visual Interface (DVI) cables are designed to connect a video source to a display. They do not carry audio, so are commonly paired with a 3.5mm audio cables within the same sheath. Their ports are usually white in colour.

There are three prominent types of DVI cables

DVI-A is capable of supporting analog only video sources.

DVI-I is capable of transmitting both analog & digital data. This means, DVI-I can be used in more situations, such as sending a video source to analog only devices (i.e. old CRT monitors). DVI-I is also commonly converted to VGA using an adapter. There are four extra pins on the cable which carry the analog signal (although one cable does not support multiple monitors).

DVD-D on the other hand, only supports a digital video source and are not compatible with analog only devices.

It is important to note, you can plug a DVI-D cable into a DVI-I port, however you cannot perform this in the opposite fashion. 

Single link and dual link variants of DVI cables

Single link has less conductors (pins) and a smaller bandwidth and are used for smaller resolutions (usually no more than 2560x1600 pixels) which is adequate for most office monitors. 

Dual link has more pins and is capable of twice the data rate of single link cables and is used for resolutions up to 3840x2400.

It is important to note you cannot convert DVI-A to DVI-D, even with an adapter.