On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:22:04 -0700, Andrew Sarangan
wrote:

To isolate noise and heat from the computer, I want to place the
processor box in the basement and have the monitor and keyboard on the
floor above. I need to penetrate the basement wall (which also happens
to an exterior wall),

After reading ahead, I come back here and ask, So you mean you want to
go only half-way through the basement wall, is that it?

run straight up about 6 ft, and then penetrate
the wall again to get into the room on the upper floor. The run should
be no more than 10 ft, so I am not worried about the cable length or
signal integrity. However, I am not sure if the cavity behind the wall
extends all the way between the basement level and the upper floor, or
if it is closed off at floor level.

Yes, it's closed off at floor level, unless you have some very strange
construction.

I don't want to open up the
drywall and find out that I can't route the cables after all. The DVI
cable would need at least a one inch hole to get through, so drilling
something that big through structural lumber would be out of the
question.
Any thoughts?

Why not just go throught the ceiling of the basement and the floor
above it? What room on the first floor are you going into. What is
the floor made of. How many cabinets does it have?