PulseAudio in-/output device confusion

Output devices: PulseAudio Default HDA Intel PulseAudio Sound Server Input devices: PulseAudio Sound Server Default HDA Intel Voilà the devices present on my system and the order of preference for each of in-/output devices. My question: Is this the optimal ordering for PulseAudio for each of in-/output? And why does output have both PulseAudio and PulseAudio Sound Server (is one a vestigial rudiment of an earlier release)? The reason I would like to finally understand this is that I have 2 computers (desk- and laptop) and the priority of preference is often different, or sometimes my laptop tells me that such and such a device does not exist and asks whether I would like to remove it, etc. Often it tells me that PulseAudio is not working, so it will default to PulseAudio Sound Server. Huh? Yes, I see that there are 2 entries, but this is all very, very confusing and I just want to know what the intended order of all these devices is supposed to be, from the perspective of someone who wants to use PulseAudio correctly to achieve optimal sound without glitches and hitches, etc.