I know this is not what you’re asking for, but another really good resource is this: https://anonymousplanet.org/guide.html

VanillaOS. Perhaps not quite ready for prime time, but in a sea of distros where the only difference is a slightly different default config, VanillaOS is doing something distinct and different.

It’s because interest rates went up and the free VC money tap was turned off so all these companies have to actually turn a profit, so they’re squeezing us with every lever they control.

Even FSF says that charging money for free software is fine.
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html

How well does plex debrid work? Been meaning to install it for a while.

No harm in trying it out, none of the changes are permanent. I think it’s good, even just the swap increase is good as it alleviates memory pressure.

Maybe the long-standing SMT bug? Basically, when two threads on the same core are running, and one of the threads discards its cache, due to this bug, the cache is discarded for all the threads on the same core. This causes a temporary FPS dip.

A proper fix is due in SteamOS 3.5, but you can also turn off SMT by installing PowerTools Decky plugin to see if it helps.

More info: https://www.pcgamer.com/steamos-35-is-almost-here-includes-a-fix-for-the-steam-decks-sneakiest-performance-bug/

Not familiar with PWM. I know it’s some anti-flicker tech, but nothing else. I’ve never noticed flicker on Steam Deck’s screen [edit: but I’m not very sensitive to it].

Steam Deck does have an adjustable refresh rate screen which can be set to any refresh rate between 40 and 60 Hz. It does not support VRR (real time adjustment), but usually you play around to get best FPS you can, then you lock the refresh rate to the same frequency (unless your FPS is below 30, then you lock it to twice the rate).
However, if you connect the Steam Deck to an external screen that does support VRR, Steam Deck is compatible and will work. Just not with the inbuilt screen.

Steam Deck has VSync on by default to prevent tearing, and it’s applied on top, to all games. You can optionally disable VSync by toggling the ‘Allow Tearing’ option in the quick menu.

I agree that streaming might be worth considering, but instead of Steam Play, which is quite meh, try Moonlight. That’s the client, and the open source server is called Sunshine. The performance and latency is much better. If you want to take it to the next level, you can add Tailscale to the mix for seamless streaming outside your local network/WiFi. As long as the underlying connection is fast enough, it tends to work really well.

Yeah, I’ve had this experience as well.