TestOut vs CBT Nuggets

victorou

Anyone have tried them? I'm studying on my 291 now and want to get one of those. But I don't know which one is better, could you guys give me some advices? thanks

sprkymrk

I've never used TestOut, but I do use CBT Nuggets, and they are very good.

ocriggins

I used Test Out and my experience, it is not as thorough as it should be. You need an additional resource with it. The simulations are easy to nail and seem to give a little bit of false sense of security.

OC

royal

CBT Nuggets is an excellent source. It'll help you get the foundation of knowledge you need for the exams. I like to watch the nugget series 1st, then read a book or two, and then review the CBT Nuggets again. Add some technet support and other sites such as this one into the mix as well as lots of lab practice, and you should be good to go. (At least this is the way I do it, everybody is different)

ocriggins wrote:

You need an additional resource with it.

You should be using multiple study resources regardless of what you use. That is of course unless you already have a bunch of experience and are just taking your MCSE for the hell of it. :P

Slowhand

In my opinion, the TestOut is the more complete of the two. CBT Nuggets is great, and I really liked using it, but I got a lot more out of the TestOut course. If you're only going to use one, I'd say go for the TestOut, since it gives you the chance to do some hands-on stuff in the sims, as well as videos and testing material.

victorou

thank you for your advices, guys. I agree that CBT is good for self-study. However, Testout does give me a chance for some hands-on experiences. That helps me to understand the materials well since we have few sims in the exam, right?

Slowhand

It helped me a whole lot, I hope it'll do the same for you.

ocriggins

Testout does give me a chance for some hands-on experiences.

For test out, remember to go over the stuff in between chapters. It's a big outline of stuff, you need to know. Set yourself of with Virtual Server, that is what I did. It's a lab without all the extra computers laying around. You need a good amount of ram though as each virtual machine requires some.

OC

jimi444

I thought Testout was great, just to navigate around the server to complete different objectives. The sims are not the same as what’s on the test, but it does help to get familiar with the environment and what to do.

geekie

Prefer the Nuggets myself. The Testout CBT's I've tried, I found the trainers really dull ZzZzZ!!

IMO Mr Conrad rulez!!

davenport

I like both but if I had to pick one over the other I would use testout. Matter of fact I'm reviewing the testout for 70-291 right now. IMO the guy that teaches on this series does a great job.

homerj742

davenport wrote:

I like both but if I had to pick one over the other I would use testout. Matter of fact I'm reviewing the testout for 70-291 right now. IMO the guy that teaches on this series does a great job.

what other resources are you using???

davenport

homerj742 wrote:

davenport wrote:

I like both but if I had to pick one over the other I would use testout. Matter of fact I'm reviewing the testout for 70-291 right now. IMO the guy that teaches on this series does a great job.

what other resources are you using???

I'm using Mike Myers passport (decent), Learnkey videos (I used Learnkey to pass my 70-290 also), and test out videos.

I'm really liking the test out stuff

elector

sToNeDcNuT wrote:

Prefer the Nuggets myself. The Testout CBT's I've tried, I found the trainers really dull ZzZzZ!!

IMO Mr Conrad rulez!!

True 100%! Conrad rulez

mikey_b

Me likey TestOut. Works well for me. I use MS Press as my backup source and VPC/W2K for a test lab.

gomonn

CBT Nugget gives you "all" the info so you can understand the stuff, but you have to be really awake. What I like about Testout, is the interaction, there is lots of things going on, so you are not just there listening to some boring guys (the worst one is the guy in 270)..... actually most of the demos are done by a lady with a very nice voice (u can't sleep whit that ) + the simulations, the tests, the notes ...... I really like that stuff. BUT ...... U need a backup that is for sure

BTW, I like Conrad 2

Samurai004

Mr. Conrad talks really fast, but he is a pretty good instructor...I still wonder where they buried that Indian Chief in the mountains though.

Also, I like the CCNA instructor too. I watched the Subnetting video part of this just because it wasn't clicking with Conrad...."SAVE THE HOSTS" with a fist in the air!

Devilsbane

Samurai004 wrote: »

Mr. Conrad talks really fast, but he is a pretty good instructor

I really like him as an instructor. He can talk a little fast at times, but I prefer that over going to slowly. I can very easily pause it or rewind it if I've missed something. It would be harder to speed through a topic you were already familiar with but wanted a review.

He is also very good about getting mundane things done off camera. That way he doesn't waste your time watching something that is very simple and that you already learned. Why watch him configure 6 clients for dhcp? Once you see one, you pretty much have it.

I watched videos from one other instructor and wasn't impressed with them. I watched all the 290's with James and I am currently watching the 291's. Glad that he is doing the 293, 294, and 298.

My only real complaint with nuggets is that it feels like they only teach the material. Not once have I heard anything referring to the test. I'm sure they are walking a fine line between training material and **** material, but would it hurt to stress certain topics with the comment "Know how to do this for the test" or something. James does a lot of extra stuff that is important to know but isn't likely to show up on the test. You would think that he would point that out very clearly, or maybe just point out the objectives on the test as he covers them.

phoeneous

Devilsbane wrote: »

My only real complaint with nuggets is that it feels like they only teach the material. Not once have I heard anything referring to the test.

Jeremy Cioara does in his CCNA series. He is funny.

Truelies

I suggest you TestOut and Syngress. I passed today with 828!
Remember to study WSUS 3.0!

walterzenga

Slowhand wrote: »

In my opinion, the TestOut is the more complete of the two. CBT Nuggets is great, and I really liked using it, but I got a lot more out of the TestOut course. If you're only going to use one, I'd say go for the TestOut, since it gives you the chance to do some hands-on stuff in the sims, as well as videos and testing material.

I mainly agree with this. CBT's videos are a little more in-depth (particularly on IPSec and Security Templates) but TestOut offers sims as well as its videos, which are vital to the exam, especially if you dont have access to your own Win2k3 server setup to practise on.

In an ideal world I would recommend both but if the choice was one, I'd go with TestOut

phoeneous

I just realized that this thread is 4 years old...

Devilsbane

phoeneous wrote: »

I just realized that this thread is 4 years old...

haha, oh well. Most of it still applies today.