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Two Beta updates have landed for the Steam Deck with a Client and an OS update available, with some pretty big changes to how external screens are handled.

Available in the Beta and Preview channels:

External display settings

  • Keep track of refresh rate and FPS limit settings independently for internal and external displays.
  • Disable refresh rate switching via the quick access menu for external displays by default. Alternative refresh rates are still accessible via the resolution dropdown in Settings->Display.
  • Added a toggle to developer settings to re-enable refresh rate switching in the quick access menu for external displays. Please note that the Steam Deck’s built-in display was validated to support the full range of refresh rates available in the slider, but for arbitrary external displays we can't provide a guarantee that the resolution + refresh rate combination will be functional. This can lead to a scenario where the external display doesn’t display an image, so there isn’t an easy way to undo the change. Here be dragons, we don't recommend turning this setting on.

General

  • Performance improvements when rendering the homescreen.
  • Fixed a crash when loading some SteamInput configs.
  • Reduced occurrence of double-activations on Soft Press on Touch Pads and Sticks.

Also available only in the Preview channel as it's an OS upgrade:

  • Fixed a crash in Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Improved external display hot-plug detection

Here's a run over the changes and a quick look in a video. For this I tested a good while of Red Dead Redemption 2 to ensure it really was fixed and not only does it run smoothly, there's no crashing now either.

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5 comments

soulsource Oct 5, 2022
That's really big. I kept forgetting to set the display back to 60 Hz way too often...
Liam Dawe Oct 5, 2022
They announce every week a rdr2 fix since ages now, still outright crashes or freezes due to ram leaks after 10-30min, not trusting it anymore. Also it's time to release the 5.19 kernel with working wifi powersave, amd pstates, internal mic getting cut off if I plug in headphones also doesn't make sense. Source, linux veteran/admin advocate, upstreaming to the kernel and well aware that things can take time especially when it's free. But here, I think they need to do a move soonish.
Played a full solid hour+ today without a problem...
GeeksOnHugs Oct 5, 2022
How long does it usually take to go from the beta channel to the stable channel? I've been hoping and waiting for an RDR2 fix for several weeks but I prefer to stay on the stable channel. I don't mind waiting as I'm just glad to know a fix is coming but I'm wondering how long I'll most likely be waiting.
Eike Oct 6, 2022
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How long does it usually take to go from the beta channel to the stable channel? I've been hoping and waiting for an RDR2 fix for several weeks but I prefer to stay on the stable channel. I don't mind waiting as I'm just glad to know a fix is coming but I'm wondering how long I'll most likely be waiting.

Weeks to a day... Sometimes it's quick. :D
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/steamos-332-and-a-stable-steam-deck-client-update-are-out-now-heres-whats-new/


Last edited by Eike on 6 October 2022 at 11:07 am UTC
GeeksOnHugs Oct 7, 2022
How long does it usually take to go from the beta channel to the stable channel? I've been hoping and waiting for an RDR2 fix for several weeks but I prefer to stay on the stable channel. I don't mind waiting as I'm just glad to know a fix is coming but I'm wondering how long I'll most likely be waiting.

Weeks to a day... Sometimes it's quick. :D
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/steamos-332-and-a-stable-steam-deck-client-update-are-out-now-heres-whats-new/

LOL I think it was actually out when I posted that.

BTW RDR2 looks and plays *GREAT* with the new update and FSR set to balanced. No crashes! Also I can now set it to use the default Proton.
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