For that price, nothing else is even CLOSE. I am totally blown away by Echo's sterling quality in their newest saws. They are just amazingly, astonishingly well made, utterly stone reliable and dependable, extremely easy starting (particularly when they are hot) and chew through wood like a bipolar beaver on meth. And the one that forcefully changed my mind is "only" a completely bone stock CS-450.
If you haven't given an Echo a chance, do so immediately if you can. Stihl and Husky need a good a$$-kicking once in awhile! It will make Stihl and Husky work much much harder to make better saws with a viable third option in the marketplace.