i3 4160 + gtx 970, or New CPU?

[Nughetable]

So recently my graphics card( r9 270 ) died on me, I am conflicted on whether I should get a CPU or GPU
My pc:
Operating system: Window 10 Home-64 bit
CPU: Intel i3 4160 @3.60 GHz Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM: 8.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard: BIOSTAR Group H81MHV3 (SOCKET 0)
(http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=693)

Games I usually play:
Overwatch
Team Fortress 2
Rust
Dead by daylight

I was recommended a gtx 970/1070, but then I am not sure whether it would bottleneck so then I thought maybe I should get a better CPU first

 

[P3D user]

Can you run those titles from the on board graphics on the CPU?

If not... Get the GPU first.

 

[rcald2000]

If I were in your situation, I'd buy a GTX 1060 6GB and an additional 8 GB DDR3 memory, and call it a day.

I wouldn't pay more than $270 USD for a single fan 1060 or $285 for a dual fan variant. Do not buy the 3GB version as it's lower performing and possess 10% fewer CUDA cores than the 6GB model.

 

[rcald2000]

One other thing: There is a very big chance that your R9 270 is covered by the vendor warranty (e.g. MSI, Sapphire, etc). The NDA for the R9 200 series was only lifted as recently as September of 2013, and then 270 undoubtedly released sometime later. If you've possessed your GPU three years or less, then I would reach out to the vendor and submit a warranty claim. They will probably send you a refurbished replacement, which you can sell on Ebay, and then use that money towards a future CPU platform upgrade. The new Intel Kaby lake CPUs are coming out in the next week or two. Just saying...

I also play Overwatch and Rust. You definitely need a discreet GPU for Rust, but Overwatch will indeed play on integrated graphics. If you were to load it up now, it may downgrade it's graphics settings automatically. If not, you'll need to set it to 720p, medium settings, and perhaps 30 FPS. It'll definitely be functional and fun though.