Brother PE500 vs PE770

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  • Category-wise, I think this is where I would ask this question...

    I am looking to get started with machine embroidery. I'd like to use it to embellish some cosplays and for other small non-cosplay related projects. Putting the cart before the horse, it would be cool if I could sell or otherwise commission my work to make some money off of it (perhaps I could make nerdy patches and sell them?). Reading from older threads here it looks like multi-needle machines are the way to go for this, but they are out of my price-range. For now I'm just looking for a beginner machine to see if I want to keep going with it, but to have the flexibility to keep going with it if I like it and not be tied down by having something too basic. Does that make sense?

    I have a Brother sewing machine and love it, so I would like to get another Brother machine for embroidery (not a sewing/embroidery combo). I've narrowed it down to the PE500 and PE770, but of course my mind is open to other suggestions.

    I'm having trouble deciding which one to go with. The 500 is very much within my price-range, if I went with the 770 I'd have to get it on sale (my budget is about 900 USD). Amazon.com has the 770 at a great price right now, but they won't ship to Canada so I'd have to figure out how to get it (I could drive across the border and pick it up).

    I know the 500 is limited by a 4x4 hoop size, whereas the 770 can use a 7x5 hoop. I was planning on taking a class like [url=http://www.craftsy.com/class/big-embroidery-with-a-small-hoop/3927?_ct=sbqii-sqjuweho-qbb&_ctp=3927,2]this[/url] or otherwise learning how to split up designs to get around the small hoop size issue. Is this reasonable? Would this be more trouble than it is worth?

    Does anybody have any information on one or both of the machines? Reviews of one or both?

    Other things to note: I have also read that the 500 needs to be connected to a computer via USB to use patterns, whereas the 700 can read designs off of a USB key. This isn't a deal-breaker for me. I'm also planning on using [url=http://www.sandscomputing.com/id69.html]SewArt[/url] for digitizing patterns, again open to suggestions.