(author here) full disclosure, I work at Microsoft. On Azure though, not on Windows.
But using Windows, as another commentator pointed out, was done because my latency test gave very weird results from SteamOS and needed more investigation. I also used Windows to test the iGPU because Nemes's Vulkan test ran into problems under SteamOS.
Thanks, I just don’t know how relevant the results are under Windows though. It looks like you think the L3 “disappeared” but that just doesn’t make sense.
They are not relevant, the author made a totally irrational choice by benchmarking under Windows, not realizing the Deck is marketed as a Linux machine first and foremost, and they should be ashamed of themself.
From the first day the Steam Deck was released, ALL FORUMS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND OTHER ONLINE OUTLETS, BLOGS, AND THE TECH PRESS has been repeating the doubtless paid Microsoft astroturf that "it'll be a great Windows gaming platform" and lo and behold, we get yet another article in this vein.
It's like Linux on the Switch - you don't see the gaming press benchmarking the Switch using Linux. But then again the Linux Foundation doesn't pay thousands of "people" in the gaming press to astroturf its product. Microsoft does.
But using Windows, as another commentator pointed out, was done because my latency test gave very weird results from SteamOS and needed more investigation. I also used Windows to test the iGPU because Nemes's Vulkan test ran into problems under SteamOS.