Are you sure about that? We only have 2 saws and for years, we just used 1 saw. We just can't afford to have multiple saws like alot of people on here. Would we like to have more saws, well yeah. I would love to have a nice limbing saw but just can't justify it right now. And I would say there are many others on here with just 1 or 2 saws.
Back to the topic at hand, I would go for the 290. That saw used to be Stihl's best selling chainsaw for a reason.
Oh you can get more saws, especially smaller ones, for like free to ten bucks. Then just clean the carbs good, new filter and lines, etc. It's relatively easy to accumulate small saw runners that way, just grab 'em, all you can scrounge local, then start piecing together runners. A lot of times, like over 50%, I get these free or ten buck saws running good again with nothing other than a new line and carb cleaning.
One of the best saws I own, and I would classify it as an older but pro saw, is a poulan tophandle s25cva that cost me ten bucks, then another ten worth of fuel filter, new line, and some carb spray. Dang *nice* saw, strong runner.
I get some stihl clamshell saws now and then, they are always free to get swapped away though, I prefer split mag case pro saws to own and run. I didn't know the difference until I joined this site, now having run and owned a variety of saws, have to say, I prefer the pro saws, just more power for the weight, and (usually) easier to work on. And as for clamshells, I can't see much diff between a ms250 or farmboss variant, or the husky clamshell home owner models, and a regular cheap poulan of similar 40 something CC size, in the cut, in the wood. None, zero, ain't seeing the diff that would make them allegedly worth 200 bucks more.
And I haven't tried any of those 50-60 buck mailorder earthquakes the guys have been getting, but 200PSI right out of the box, then a muff mod and carb limiter trim and tune...hmmm..
But..any running saw can cut wood, that's a given. Sharp chain and adequate tune is the most important.
To each their own, but from what I have learned just on this site and really just a small amount of dorking around with used saws, no real need to drop serious bucks on a new saw unless you just really really *want* a brand new saw. There's way too many good used deals out there.