Power / video cable interference

OK, so here's my story. I have a new Dell XPS m1330, and a new Dell 2407WFP-HC. They're both fantastic and I'm very happy. Except for the following issue:

When I connect the monitor to the laptop (using the VGA cable that shipped with the monitor), and the power to the laptop, the power cable seems to interfere with the quality of the video. It gets wavy/flickery. I'm 100% sure that this is what's going on (disconnecting the power solves the problem, and jiggling the two cables relative to each other increases/decreases the problem).

So I have at least a few options:

1) I've read that this behavior can be caused by "dirty" power. So maybe I could get a better power strip / surge protector thing, and the problem would go away?

2) Some kind of shielded VGA cable. These are definitely offered for sale. But do they actually work or is it just a silly marketing ploy like Monster cables?

3) Buy a HDMI->DVI cable. The laptop has HDMI out (no DVI out). The monitor has DVI in (no HDMI in). Is this a good idea? The HDMI out on the laptop is a little from the power in (the VGA out is right next to the power in), but the cords would still be near each other.

Thanks for any comments/suggestions.

 

Rule out the dirty power first by simply plugging it in somewhere else. By somewhere else, I mean another building, since if one room's electrical work is shoddy, the whole building is probably the same (the same team of electricians).

You could get a shielded vga cable.. but a cable wrapped in tin foil or copper would do the same thing, possibly for cheaper, but not exactly aesthetically pleasing. Before any of that, try a different VGA cable (you can always return it to the store if you cant find one)

If you have a rather large monitor (19"+), connecting via DVI/HDMI would get you a better quality picture since it's all digital. This would also get rid of interference if it is caused by the power cord, since digital signals don't generally get affected by interference.