Specs:
CPU: I5 2400 GPU: GT 730 2GB DDR5 RAM: 8GB Distro:
Any recommended games for my graphics card + how to make games smother - facing lad and screen shattering when I play CS:GO with game mode on!
With that kind of hardware, nothing you could tweak would help a whole lot.
You need an upgrade mate.
I agree with the other posters, your hardware is going to hold you back. But you could try switching to a lighter desktop environment like LXDE instead of GNOME. This user found a small increase in performance: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/dg87jp/does_the_desktop_environment_matter_for_gaming/
But they had somewhat beefy hardware. If you’re truly at the limit of your specs, 100% CPU/RAM usage, your performance increase could be even more.
xfce is good too.
Gnome is really heavy lol, I tried to run it on my raspi and it was so bad
my 10yo laptop struggles with it too
Lightweight DEs are cool and such, but if that’s the thing you’re saving on a lightweight WM (like xmonad, DWM or i3) will probably be the best bet
Honestly, you’re not going to have a lot of luck with recent games. The sandybridge i5’s were great back in the day but their time has come. I had a 2600 for a looong time but it’s been out to pasture for a couple years now.
Check out the “patientgamers” communities, they like to play older games that would run a lot smoother on your hardware.
I upgraded my 2600K to a 6600K and it felt like a 5x increase across the board. Same when I upgraded that to Ryzen 7 5800X
Your setup is close to my 2015 very-much-non-gaming laptop, so… I’d recommend retro gaming and/or modern 2D games. A few suggestions would be: Baldur’s Gate 1-2, Icewind Dale 1, Xenonauts, Battle Brothers, Wildermyth, Shadowrun Returns (and sequels), Into the Breach, Fallout 1-2. If you’re into programming games, that hardware should run everything by Zachtronics as well as Human Resource Machine and 7 Billion Humans.
Into the Breach is a fun game. Command and Conquer 3 and you could get into emulation like Smash bros or Mario Kart.
Something like Slay the Spire should be easy to run, essential roguelike deckbuilder
Stardew Valley
Terraria
celeste and hollow knight
The main thing is to game at lower resolution and quality settings as much as possible while keeping . Somebody also suggested gamemoderun and that can help. My laptop with a GeForce 930m can barely run CS GO at 50fps at 720p low settings and the GT 730 is even weaker so keeping realistic expectations will also help you be happier with the performance you have
If you use gamemoderun it optimizes your scheduling to prefer the game to other processes, among other optimizations.
https://liquorix.net/ might give you a percentage or two in terms of responsiveness.
If you don’t have a budget to upgrade to a better laptop anytime soon, I recommend using a low ram distro, like Lubuntu and search for the best driver compatible for your GT 730. I believe this GPU barely supports Vulkan so demanding 3D games will mostly not run properly. You’ll have to stick with old AAA or indie games. Also, if using a Ubuntu-based distro, make sure the package nvidia-prime is installed to use your nvidia GPU instead of the Intel HD Graphics which are even worse. Good luck!
1st) quit Ubuntu n use Debian testing, based on your hardware!
switch to arch/debian + xfce/lxde/lxqt
also make sure to disable the 2400’s iGP in the bios so you’re not wasting ram on that
I think your best bet is Gameboy emulation for gaming, that GPU isn’t gonna be doing any 3D stuff any time soon unfortunately