Opening old wallet, sync Bitcoin Core first or import first and sync after?

Question

I have an old Bitcoin Core wallet file with some coins I need to move to a different address now but I do not have Bitcoin Core synchronised.

1. Can I just run Bitcoin Core, open wallet and send bitcoins to another address without synchronising the node?

If #1 is not possible then should I:

2. Fully synchronise the node first and import wallet after
3. Import wallet first and fully synchronise node with the wallet open?

I am a bit hesitant to option #3 because I do not want to leave the computer on, connected to the internet basically with a hot wallet on it. Option #2 worries me that upon importing a wallet to already synced node I will have re-sync again.

I know I can always just open the wallet on an offline computer, dump private keys and then import WIFs to (or sweep on) a different wallet software. However, I consider this last resort option as this way there is always a risk of missing some WIFs or making some mistake if using sweep feature, so I would rather just send coin from Bitcoin Core opened wallet "traditional way".

Answer 1

Yes, theoretically you can use (open) a wallet file (wallet.dat) in newer Bitcoin Core versions. Also, your node doesn't have to be synchronized to create a transaction - should work offline. A transaction can be broadcasted separately.

A backup copy of a wallet file gives peace of mind when experimenting.