At the risk of being condescending, the i7 7700k is between 225 and 300 on ebay now.
If you are going that route and need to be low cost, here you go.
Ryzen 3 3100 quad with 4 cores/8 threads just like the i7 7700k--114.99
https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-3-3100-ryzen-3-3rd-gen/p/N82E16819113649?&quicklink=true
Gigabyte B550 motherboard--129.99
https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-b550-gaming-x/p/N82E16813145212
Of course you'd have to carry ram over. But if you are paying say 275 for the i7, you are talking 245 for both of the other parts plus shipping. Not sure what ram is being used now though.
Here's a review of the 3100.
Is the Ryzen 3 3100 a bargain overclocker? Or is this a deal too far? Time to find out...
www.pcgamer.com
Keep in mind you might be slightly behind on some games. However, you gain the platform if next year you are bored with your Ryzen 3, ok, drop in a new Ryzen 9 4000 series and boom you are at the top of the heap. Or anywhere in between. The intel platform you are on is going to be more limited. And the performance difference between say a Ryzen 3 3100 and the i7 7700k doesn't look too huge.