what to do?

Discussion in 'Training & Development' started by greenbrucelee, Oct 20, 2009.

  1. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    As most of you will know I haven't been on here much but not just because I was getting pissed of will all of TP threads and arguments that were going on but because I have been doing freelance hardware/software support and building PCs.

    I have been mainly involved in hardware support such as diagnosing faults with power supplies, motherboards, RAM and hard drives. Seems to me there are a lot of people out there with under powered PCs or that they don't seem to realise that their power supplies are crap.

    I have had to deal with 3 cases of power supplies that have actually blown up and are all Huntkey PSUs which are really poo.

    I have been supporting the odd computer on the software side through remote assistance some involving corrupted Windows files, MBR corruption and remote xp and vista repairs (although to me while to figure out the script to do for the remote installations).

    Now my questions are:

    What cert next? 70-270 perhaps?

    Is there any hardware certs I could do? this seems to be where I'm best suited.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  2. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    Hi GBL. I like reading your input on Hardware as you clearly wipe the floor with what I know about it, so I think its a shame you aren't around as much to be honest with you mate.

    I think you would enjoy 270 (XP) and possibly 620 (Vista). Have you considered something a bit different like Security+ or ITILv3?

    If you really enjoyed your N+ studies perhaps look into the ICND1 to get your CCENT.

    Jim
     
    Certifications: VCP4, 5, 6, 6.5, 6.7, 7, 8, VCAP DCV Design, VMConAWS Skill, Google Cloud Digital Leader, BSc (Hons), HND IT, HND Computing, ITIL-F, MBCS CITP, MCP (270,290,291,293,294,298,299,410,411,412) MCTS (401,620,624,652) MCSA:Security, MCSE: Security, Security+, CPTS, CCA (XenApp6.5), MCSA 2012, VSP, VTSP
    WIP: Google Cloud Certs
  3. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    Thanks, I just built and overclocked my first i5 and they are much better than i7s if you ask me especially when it comes to the heat these new CPUs produce

    I have been thinking about the 70-270 or S+ since I already have the books, not sure about Vista though as I don't own but do own Windows 7 which I was thinking about studying when they release a cert for it.

    possibly although I don't really like all that subnetting lark :)

    Thanks for your suggestions.
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2009
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  4. Evilwheato

    Evilwheato Kilobyte Poster

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    I found the N+ pretty interesting, and plugged a gap in my networking knowledge. I'm pretty sure it covers basic networking equipment as well.
    If not, perhaps Windows 7. I'm mainly doing it for interest at the moment- I've preorded the MS press book (out tomorrow- I hope).
     
  5. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    might get the book and have a look though it.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  6. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    Maybe think about doing 70-680 then mate, Windows 7, Configuring and get a nice shiney new MCITP by doing 70-685 or 70-686 when they come out :D
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2009
    Certifications: VCP4, 5, 6, 6.5, 6.7, 7, 8, VCAP DCV Design, VMConAWS Skill, Google Cloud Digital Leader, BSc (Hons), HND IT, HND Computing, ITIL-F, MBCS CITP, MCP (270,290,291,293,294,298,299,410,411,412) MCTS (401,620,624,652) MCSA:Security, MCSE: Security, Security+, CPTS, CCA (XenApp6.5), MCSA 2012, VSP, VTSP
    WIP: Google Cloud Certs
  7. dmarsh
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    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Not seen an i5 yet, but they don't have hyperthreading meaning they effectively have less virtual processor cores available to the OS for active threads. They will likely perform worse on server and workstations type loads.

    Heat, clock frequency and synthetic benchmarks are not necessarilly the best measures of a good processor.
     
  8. westernkings

    westernkings Gigabyte Poster

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    Bruce, you looking forward to the i9 6 Cores coming out in Q1 2010?, 12 ****ing threads dude.
     
    Certifications: MCITP:VA, MCITP:EA, MCDST, MCTS, MCITP:EST7, MCITP:SA, PRINCE2, ITILv3
  9. r.h.lee

    r.h.lee Gigabyte Poster

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    greenbrucelee,

    Since it seems like your preference and strength is in physical systems, how about expanding your A+ into Server+?

    http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed/server.aspx
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCP+I, MCP, CCNA, A+
    WIP: CCDA
  10. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    I expected this too, however they don't perform how you would expect.

    I think you could compare them to the highend core 2 duo series (E8400, 8500 and 8600) because of the way they do peform in high peformance apps. Granted the i7 is faster has more threads which is good for servers etc the smart move for the desktop PC would be to have an i5

    yep then the 8 cores in 2011 :D

    Thanks for the suggestion I'll take a look.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  11. dmarsh
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    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    The reality is it takes 2+ years for most desktop applications to catch up with processor, compiler and OS changes.

    Applications designed for only two cores will likely not perform better on quad core and above.

    Workstations apps, like Photoshop, Maya, Solidworks, Databases, etc probably will perform better.

    However something else that is going to happen more and more is CPU offload onto the GPU, if you have a good GPU, app's may choose to use that instead of the CPU, somewhat negating the benefits of a better CPU.

    So the real picture is likely to be more complex.

    I agree for the average user can build a decent non i7 system on a budget, but then the i7 was never pitched at those users.
     
  12. The Zig

    The Zig Kilobyte Poster

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    Hey GreenBruceLee,

    Beyond what you already have, I don't really know of any specific hardware certs. I think hardware, like programming, is one of those things where - short of a university - it's practically impossible to test above a rudimentary level. So experience is king.

    That said, I have heard of some vendor specific certs. For example, one guy I worked with before was Dell certified. His company put him through training so that he could fix their (Dell) machines on site without invalidating the warranty (thus reducing the need for call-outs).
    He told me it was good training, but the only bad thing was the cert only covers up to the current generation as of when you take the test. So later generations (i.e. most computers purchased more than six months later) won't be covered - you can't work on them without killing the warranty. This means you frequently need to re-certify if you want it to have any practical value.
    (Edit: this is all second hand info, so don't take it as 100% gospel!)

    Not sure if it's what you're looking for but here's a linky.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2009
    Certifications: A+; Network+; Security+, CTT+; MCDST; 4 x MTA (Networking, OS, Security & Server); MCITP - Enterprise Desktop Support; MCITP - Enterprise Desktop Administrator; MCITP - Server Administrator; MCSA - Server 2008; MCT; IOSH; CCENT
    WIP: CCNA; Server 2012; LPIC; JNCIA?
  13. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    There are more and more apps coming out especially game swhich state the cores in the requirement list. Operation flashpoint dragon rising requires a quad core q6600 in its recommended spec. But yep I agrre it usually takes apps 2 years + to catch up

    Thanls for the link :)
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  14. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Thing is, GBL, 70-270 doesn't really cover much of the hardware aspect... it's mostly administering XP in a domain environment... not in a standalone or home network environment.

    70-620 doesn't hit much hardware either, but it's good for diagnosing problems when you encounter a Vista computer, and it isn't just for workplace admins. And if you plan on doing hardware troubleshooting for home users, you WILL encouter Vista, I can promise you.

    You can also knock out 70-623: Supporting and Troubleshooting Applications on a Windows Vista Client for Consumer Support Technicians. Again, it's application-based, but you're not gonna find any more hardware-based certs other than the aforementioned Dell certs. Passing 70-620 + 70-623 will get you the MCITP: Consumer Support Technician certification.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2009
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  15. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    thanks I'll take a look.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  16. MLP

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    Hi

    I don't know much about the details, but someone I know was due to do a foundation degree with Thames Valley Uni, which included loads of HP certs, and required spending time at HP's HQ. I don't know how you feel about the degree part, but it might be a way of getting on to the HP certification track, which I think is mainly hardware.

    Maria
     
    Certifications: HND Computing

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