Do I really need something like CBT Nuggets to Pass 70-680

I already have MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-680): Configuring Windows 7 and I will be soon purchasing Windows 7 Resource Kit and Darril Gibson's book for the 70-685 and 70-686.

I will also be setting up a machine with VMs of Windows 2008 and Windows 7.

I also have been deploying Windows 7 and supporting it for the past six months at work.

I look at other posts and everybody is recommending CBT Nuggets and Train Signal to pass these exams. Unfortunately I am paying for everyting on my own and just can't afford those video series. If I did I would have trouble paying for the exams.

So do people think I need those video series to pass the exams? Or does anybody have some cheap alternatives?

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Comments

Cisco Inferno

just recently Professor Messer put out some 70-680 videos.
If you are unaware of him he is a great guy who has put out a TON of free videos for CompTIA A+ and Network+ exams. They are wonderful powerpoint type short lectures. I've used them as a review and owe alot to them.

Professor Messer's Free Microsoft 70-680 Certification Training | Professor Messer - CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Certification Training

he is also in the making of a Security+ series covering the new 2011 objectives. which i look forward to viewing.

alokin123

tecjohnson wrote: »

So do people think I need those video series to pass the exams? Or does anybody have some cheap alternatives?

It all depends on how you learn. For me personally i always like to have a visual element when i'm not in the mood to read or do lab exercises.

I highly recommend CBT Nuggets but it is a bit pricey. A considerably cheaper alternative are a few of the following:

1. http://itdvds.com/ - I stumbled on this site by accident a while ago. Very cheap and the videos are quite good. They have videos for all the Windows 7 exams and are releasing some for W2K8 exams. Plus they have exchange and lots of other video series. I use it with this product so that i cant watch the videos and all flash videos at up to 3x speed: Take Control of Your Time With MySpeed - Enounce

2. http://www.msteched.com/ - Free and videos done by Microsoft experts. A lot of these videos cover new features in MS products and i always look on there if i am trying to learn an MS product.

3. http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/ - MS Webcasts are also quite handy, some of the video quality isnt great but the content is spot on and similarly to teched is by done experts in the field. Specific Windows 7 stuff is here: http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/technetwindows7.aspx

4. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/default - More free videos from MS. There is also some very good stuff here. specific W7 stuff is here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/ff832960?query=1&Category=Windows+7

eddiec312

I just took the test this past Sat. (passed yay!) and I did watch both videos and I would recommend them but I don't think they are a necessity. You can get the same information from the videos on the books you have.

I would recommend you get practice exams like transcenders that have explanations instead. Although they are much harder than the actual test questions, they will help you pin point what detailed information you need to look at. They helped me greatly.

ally_uk

I would say go with the Darril Gibson book, I normally struggle to sit and read I.T books, I find some of them to be really dry and tedious esepcially the MS Press book which is a pain in the butt as you have to keep checking the errata to ensure your on the right track and are not taking in wrong information.

Currently reading through Darril's book and all I can say is wow this is how a chapter on deployment should be written it's clear, easy to understand and I cant wait to get hands on and start labbing through the examples.

Video wise you can't go wrong with Train Signal, again these are fantastic me being a visual learner this is how I absorb and take in the information fast, I like the way they use real world examples and cover Server 2008 aswell so you get some hands on experience with MDT2010, WDS being new to Server 2008 this also gave me a incentive to dive a little bit deeper and learn about how to set up a DC and learn some basics of Active Directory.

Ive also got the CBT Nuggets In comparison to Train Signal they are good but I feel as they don't touch on the subject matters as Much as Train Signal and you would have to do alot of additional research in your own time to further cement the concepts.

Avoid the Sybex book like the plague, Seriously Lacking, not enough detail not sure how anyone could pass the exam with this alone.

MS Press Book worth a read ensure you get the errata to cover the areas where mistakes are made, I also find some of the subject matter to be all over the place and not as concise as Darril Gibson Book

And that's my brief review of what i'm using

noname852

ally_uk wrote: »

I would say go with the Darril Gibson book... Avoid the Sybex book like the plague, Seriously Lacking, not enough detail not sure how anyone could pass the exam with this alone.

For anyone still looking through this thread. Darril Gibson's book is published by Sybex...LOL. I passed the 70-680 with Professor Messor's videos and Don Poulton's book. The videos do help if you're a visual learner. For the 70-685 I was looking for videos to complement Gibson's book. ITDVDs is awesome, very inexpensive compared to CBT Nuggets. They get right to the point and the videos are broken down into short lengths, i.e. a few minutes or less. The longest one I've watched is 7 minutes. So, instead of having to search through a 20 minute to 1 hour video for a specific subject you can select the specific video on that subject.