A Classic Look Back: The Shamrock Monitor (Page 1 of 1)
Written by
Steve Lake
Posted on: May 09, 2007 at 01:21pm
Section:
Hardware
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The Shamrock Monitor was a classic budget monitor from the mid to late 90's through the
early 21st century. Shamrock corporation, which operated from 1994 to mid 2002,
produced a simple line of generic midline monitors that were shipped with a lot of OEM
computers at the time and provided excellent quality video at a very reasonable price.
But what really set the Shamrock's apart was their durability. Shamrock's out
lasted every other single monitor brand from that time period and provided a good quality
user experience that, while not bleeding edge or top of the line, it was an experience
that was well worth the money and then some.
But that also became somewhat of an Achilles heal for the company. For the prices
that they asked, their monitors tended to outlast other brands by quite a bit. Now
they weren't the longest lasting, as there's monitors out there today which are far older
than any of the Shamrock's, but they have the unique distinction of being the only monitor
brand with more monitors that are over 10-15 years old and still in perfect working
condition than any other. While most monitor brands last 4-7 years maximum before
giving up the ghost, the Shamrock's were on their second wind when they hit ten years old
and still kept going.
By the time most brands, even some of the most expensive monitors out there, hit the 4
year mark, the numbers of still functioning monitors begins to taper off. By the
time you hit 7 years the die off rate is at a steady trot and at a dead run by the time
they turn ten. Amazingly, the Shamrocks didn't see their "trot" start
until they were over 12 years old and still haven't seen their die off rate break into any
kind of run at all. Sure, there's a natural rate of attrition for the Shamrocks, but
it's at such a ridiculously low level that it's more than worth mentioning.
Currently to this day, of all the Shamrock monitors sold between 1994 and 2002, about
45%-95% are surprisingly still functional and in use in some shape or form. That's
a huge difference between other brands which have a 3%-75% functionality rating on
monitors that are 5 years old and older.
The only real complaint I heard about from users and owners of the Shamrock was its
lack of good image quality. I used one for over 10 years and a few years back
switched to a much newer monitor for my PC, and honestly, the difference between my 10
year old Shamrock at the time and my brand new top end AOC was nearly nil. Now
that's not bashing AOC in any manor, but rather complimenting my Shamrock monitor.
Even after 10 years it was still rock solid with good picture quality. It's
currently serving my mother faithfully to this day and shows no signs of giving up, dying,
fading or anything even remotely to that effect. I expect it to last well past its
15th birthday and into it's 20's easily.
It's a pity that Shamrock corporation didn't last any longer than what they did,
because if they were still making monitors today, I'd buy one in a heartbeat, because
Shamrock corporation believed in quality at a reasonable price, and the legacy they left
behind is a strong testament to that commitment. Long live the Shamrock, one of the
best monitors ever made.
If you're curious about some of the models that Shamrock made, just check out the Shamrock Driver Page over at
Monitorworld.com. It won't tell you much, as there's a vast scarcity of information
on the company anymore, but it will give you an idea to a few of the offerings they had in
their brief few years in business. They may not have had many different models, but
they did have quite a range of offerings from their 14" monitors first released in
1994, all the way to their pinnacle 21" monitors released in 2001, about a year
before they went out of business. If you ever find one of these monitors in the
wild, grab it and hold onto it tight, because you've got a treasure on your hands.
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