I bought a 500i a couple of years ago it is an absolute beast in medium sized wood, I have a ms650 for bigger wood and an 881 when required. I wanted a lighter saw for the smaller stuff, the 400 seems ok so far but I am pretty partial to the 500.I've been mulling over this statement for a while now. I wouldn't go after any version of the 044/440 over a 400. Having said that, I have more saws then I know what to do with and if the 400 isn't up to the task the 390xp or 394xp takes it in stride. Now if I had to have a lot less saws, I'd probably settle on the 500i. I've never gotten to run one, but have fiddled around with them at the dealers enough to know I could cut with it all day and have a solid saw.