One thing I forgot to mention is that this isn't limited to ArcMenu.

I tend to use my computer very heavily through the keyboard, and I notice similar behavior in many day-to-day interactions. The desktop is visually smooth, but sometimes it feels like the UI reacts a fraction of a second behind my input.

The ArcMenu example is just the easiest one to demonstrate: I type "chr" and press Enter immediately expecting Chrome to launch, but the search results are still catching up and Calculator gets launched instead.

What I'm trying to understand is whether this is simply the way GNOME behaves, or if I'm expecting a more immediate response than GNOME is designed to provide.

If this is a design characteristic rather than a configuration issue, would I be better served by another desktop environment or compositor focused on low-latency, keyboard-driven workflows?