Using two Workstations efficient or not?

[Ali3D]

I am upgrading from a 3950x to a 7950x Setup and am curious if i should keep the old one also? Because of AM5, the only things missing in my order is a case, ssd and a cooler for the cpu.

The Benefits in my Imagination are;
-Using the old one in busy times to work on a second project, while the new one is Rendering.
-Using the old one as a Render Node.
-Using the old one just playing Games while Rendering.

The Struggle in my Imagination;
-Overworking? As I will already cut Render times in half and save time.
-How much Input i would get from the 3950x as a Node?
-Synchronizing the data on the main system. Headaches or easy process? I don't really want to transfer data everytime manually.

To my Standarts: the average amount of Projects I had this year was Monthly 2,66 Projects. Expectations next year are 3<. I only do Still Images, no Animations.

I would appreciate all your advices and experiences in similar cases!

[aaouviz]

Do it.

It can be a massive headache ensuring you always have the same software installed on both PC's (and managing licenses, which is another topic).

Map a network drive from your main PC to store all files on so you don't have to manually move/copy anything.

Use Pulze Scene Manager and Pulze Render Manager to set them off from one PC. It tells you which plug-ins are missing.

[Blanco]

Keep both.
You can use the older machine for distributed rendering to speed up rendering for large images, or use as render node for single images.
I have a few old machines I use for DR when I’m in a tight spot and need stuff rendered really quickly.