If you have the exact hardware supported by the SteamOS then you’ll be fine. However, I don’t even know of they support nvidia video cards yet, I believe most of their stack is optimized for AMD cards.
In that sense, installing a more generalist linux distribution will net you a better driver compatibility.
Linux gaming is at a fantastic state right now, you install steam and games work. 20 years ago I would have never believed it to be possible.
Trying from a USB or virtual machine is just a good idea in general. Use Ventoy to put several distros into a single USB stick and try them out. Try your hardware, check which UI you like the most.
If you are tech savvy enough to install Windows, you can easily install Linux as well. If you install any of the big distros you will have a good time.
Linux not supporting kernel level anti-cheats is an amazing feature, in my honest opinion.
It’s not going to happen in this iteration of SteamOS. It remains mostly a gaming “only” distribution.
Is there a (Linux) command I can run to check my power consumption?
In C++? I’d rather be shot, thanks :P
Unfortunately this is one of the cases where you’re going to have to do some research.
Check ProtonDB to see how a game plays on Linux. I’m assuming the flight simulator would be problematic.
Usually the periferal drivers are built into the Linux kernel. Your keyboard and mice will just work, gamepads as well. Niche stuff like wheels and flight controllers will likely not work out of the box and you’ll have to find a community based software to support it. Sucks.
If I were you I’d boot a virtual machine or a live USB drive and try it out. If you’re not comfortable with the amount of compatibility just don’t install it. Nothing lost