Reddit user Dacvak recently shared on the Steam Deck subreddit a new report which highlights how setting any framerate limitation with the new option introduces input latency. The game used for the test is Rogue Legacy 2. Dacvak also tested running a game on Steam Deck with a built-in framerate cap such as Rocket League. In this case, there was no additional input latency. As such, using built-in framerate caps seems the way to go as of now, even if it may lead to uneven frame pacing or screen tearing when internal fps and screen refresh rate do not sync. Upcapped: 31.8ms 60fps cap: 75.8ms 30fps cap: 145.9ms 50hz/uncapped: 32.5ms 50hz/50fps cap: 94.2ms 50hz/25fps cap: 186.1ms 40hz/uncapped: 34.3ms 40hz/40fps cap: 121.1ms 40hz/20fps cap: 232.0ms The Steam Deck SteamOS has been recently updated with the Beta 3.2 patch which added not only the option of changing the in-game screen refresh rate but also some other features such as an OS-controlled fan curve and more. You can find all the patch details by going here. This resulted in minimal to no increased input latency, which makes it the most viable solution when capping your framerate for performance/battery life reasons.
