The Video Graphics Array standard, commonly known as 
                VGA, was developed by IBM and became widely used in the 1980’s for PC monitor
            displays.  More common today, however, are the extensions and supersets of
            VGA technology.  VGA itself supports 16 colors at a resolution of 640x480 or
            256 colors at a 320x200 resolution.  The extensions and supersets of VGA, on
            the other hand, which are commonly referred to collectively as Super VGA (
SVGA),
            can handle higher color depths and resolutions starting from 800x600 and are used
            by virtually every PC monitor and graphics card in use today.  Be aware, however,
            that the phrase “SVGA Compatible”, as seen on most of today’s monitors and graphics
            cards, is virtually meaningless in describing exactly what VGA extension is being
            used.  In order to achieve the best possible video performance, the graphics
            card and the monitor must support the same resolutions, color depths, and refresh
            rates, in other words, they both must use the same VGA extension. Included under
            the SVGA umbrella are the 8514/A superset, the Extended Graphics Array (XGA), and
            the 
Video Electronics Standards Association’s
            (
VESA) VESA Bios Extension (VBE), the latter
            being the standard VGA extension in use today.  The VESA Bios Extension allowed
            for a virtual guarantee of software compatibility in the face of numerous incompatible
            VGA extensions.  
        
 
        
        
            
                The connection type commonly used for VGA and SVGA monitor cables today is a 15-pin
                VESA 
DDC (
PnP)
                High Density D-Sub connector (HD15), which consists of 3 rows of 5 pins each, which
                are thinner than the normal D-Sub connectors (DB).  Macintosh monitors, however,
                require a DB15 connector, wherein the 15-pin layout is organized in only 2 rows. 
                Following are the pin assignments for today’s monitor cables:
            
 
            
                
                VGA / SVGA
                    (HD15) Plug