My go-to is Passmark as they have a quite extensive list of CPUs and Video cards
Your CPU scores a rather decent 4273. That is about where most Core i5s fall, so you are not weak there. By comparison, my i3–530 scores 2600. Still quite adequate for gaming, but definitely a lesser CPU than you have by quite a bit.
On the GPU side, here are the Passmark scores and prices of a few cards. ....
GT240 (my old card) = 643 – $38
GT 440 = 818 – $70
GTS 450 = 1539 – $85
GTX 465 (my card) = 2930 – (No longer available, but was $250 ~3 years ago)
R7 260X = 2976 – $120
R9 270 = 4230 – $170
Now, to show you what those numbers mean, my GTX465 can play World of Tanks on a mix of High and Ultra detail at 30–42 FPS on my 1920*1080 screen. The R7 260X is roughly equivalent, so it should perform about the same. My old GT240, which has ~¾ the power of your current card, would struggle to hit a stuttering, jumpy, unplayable 12 FPS, and turning things to Low only got me to 25–28 FPS.
The GTS450 may allow you a playable 30 FPS on Medium at the resolution I run, but for $40 more, you could have far better. More FPS at higher detail for not much more money… sounds like win to me!
I mention the R9 270 as that is a $170 card. Maybe that is what you saw? Either that, or that store really marks things up! I might pay a little more for an overclocked MSI R7 260X but if other places are selling the R9 270 for $170, then the only way I will shell out $170 is for an R9, not an R7. Though with nVidia putting out the GTX750 (Passmark score 3264) for $120, that is another alternative.
Video cards under $100 are rarely good for gaming. Video cards over $150 are generally not great values. The sweet spot for performance/price is right around $120.