Which practice test for the 647?

Essendon

So I have decided to cough up some money for a practice test for the 647. I have given Transcender a test run and the questions are good and difficult and it's all R2. But it's priced at $109 for 30-day online access. Selftest is priced at $69 for 30-day online access. As for LabSim, I couldnt see if they offered just their exams, the whole 647 suite (exams/CBT's/flashcards etc) is for $495 - just dont have that kind of money to burn.

I have used Transcender for my MCSA tests and they were pretty good back then too. Has some one tried SelfTest? Would you recommend them? Otherwise I might just have to suck it up ans fork out the $109 somehow for Transcender. Just dont want to fail again!

Krunchi

I have used Self Test for my A+ N+ 620 and 623 I also use a few apps on my I-Phone for all my test. Self Test is pretty good I give them a thumbs up great sims and they keep the test up to date.

neathneathneath

I've used both Transcender and Selftest in the past.
Currently using Transcender for the 70-643.

As you may know, both products are made by the same company Kaplan.
They are very similar. My findings are that Transcender is more expensive but you tend to get more questions. Like for like they are much the same just $$$

I have usually bought the full product rather han the 30 day option, just in case I need them more than 30 days as its probably cheaper then. I have had to resit the odd exam along the way and having the media (say for the 70-646) proved invaluable.

Essendon

Thanks for the reply guys.

@Krunchi, I just downloaded the SelfTest demo, and like neathneathneath said they questions looked similar to Transcender (same parent company). But they were way easier than Transcender. And the exam is not easy!

@neathneathneath, when I demoed the Transcender questions, they were definitely as hard, if not harder, than the actual exam. SelfTest give you 133 questions, Transcender give you 148. Does Transcender have the testlets too?

Krunchi

If you have a Smart Phone "I-Phone" try out some of the Certification test apps. I have used three different ones from CertFlashCards, Passport and Upward Mobility.

Upward Mobility in my opinion is the best out of the three. But back to Transcender and Self Test. Either one gets the job done just comes down to what you want to spend.

neathneathneath

Essendon wrote: »

Thanks for the reply guys.

Does Transcender have the testlets too?

I'm using the 70-643 Transcender at present, not exactly sure what testlets are but I asume no.

Its just 202 standard format multi-choice questions with some drag / drop questions.

marcels

Ok, I've had a break from study after my depressing failures with this exam. I'm now back at my desk and ready to focus on a pass.

I've had a look at old posts but I couldn't spot clarification that the Transcender Exam contains R2 content, can anyone confrim please?


Also has any one looked at the Transcender Study Guide for 70-647, does it contain R2 content and is it worth the $25?

Essendon

I downloaded the demo from Transcender's website and it did contain R2 questions. The questions were exam quality too, definitely as hard, if not harder.

marcels

Essendon wrote: »

I downloaded the demo from Transcender's website and it did contain R2 questions. The questions were exam quality too, definitely as hard, if not harder.

I've emailed Transcender for confirmation.


It’s a bit of coin to shell out when you convert it to NZ$ and I want to make sure it’s current. I purchased the PrepLogic guide for this exam, it’s was only US$4 but it was not current and I found that it wasn’t very helpful.


Have you set a date to re-sit this exam yet? I’ve got a PRINCE2 course and exams in the next 2 weeks which will distract me for a bit, I’m planning to sit the exam again at the end of May or early June.

Essendon

Please do let us know what Transcender say about R2.

As for the test re-sit, I have it tentatively booked for May 16. Going in real hard to nail this sucker and recover the lost pride.

Essendon

And never buy PrepLogic. I spent $1 for their mega guide for the 643, though it was only a dollar, but I think I wasted it. Not to mention the pesky sales emails that they sent on a regular basis to entice me to buy some more training, till I told them to STFU.

Todd Burrell

Both Transcender and Selftest are updated for 2008 R2. I have both and I can say that the only difference in the 2 is the number of questions (around 135 for selftest and around 150 for Transcender) and the number of testlets (6 for Transcender and 4 for selftest). The questions on both tests are remarkably similar (some are exactly the same). So it comes down to money.

I have used both in the past and I have been very happy with both. I find that both have incredibly detailed explanations of the answers which are great study aids.

Also, I am FINALLY taking this beast tomorrow at noon. So I will have an update to this thread tomorrow to indicate if these tests were reflective of the actual test.

Essendon

Thank you for the info Todd. I am not surprised that both products had similar questions; the same parent company.

I wish you all the luck you may need for this test. Hope your next post is "I hammered this sucker into submission..."

marcels

I've just purchased the Selftest Exam and the Study Guide.

While the Study Guide looks better that the Preplogic one is not up to date. It still contains references to TS products, no mention of DirectAccess or BranchCache, so I feel like I wasted some money on that.

The exam on the other hand looks very much like the real thing. The testlets look almost exactly like the live exam. I've only had a quick look at it but I'll run through it in the next few days and see how it compares.

Todd Burrell

I took this beast today and passed with a 737. I have to say that Transcender and selftest were very reflective of the actual test both in content and difficulty. I don't want to violate the NDA, but I would highly recommend learning everything about virtualization (Hyper-V, RemotaApp and Softgrid)...

I'll open a new thread to go into the exam in more detail...

Glad to have this one done - on to 70-680 now.

earweed

Congrats Todd!!
I took it recently and have to agrre with you about what to study. The biggest thing that helped me was studying the scenarios in the MS Press book. Also look at technet articles about forefront UAG.

MickQ

Well done, Todd!

marcels

Congrats on the pass Todd, I can't wait to pass this exam and post my score.