Yes it has a larger bandwidth if you are willing to saturate the entire bus for it. Remember the CPU needs the bus as well and if Paula is playing music it needs the BUS as well, so you don't get all of the max stats on everything you have to comprise as you see fit.
Also you can't just copy a sprite over the bitmap, you have to AND OR mask it. AND to make a hole in the background, then OR in your sprite. To remove the sprite you have to copy in the "background" again over it. Yes software sprites suck
So by the time you do FETCH AND OR STORE that is 4 bits per 1bit on screen ~4,000,0000 -> ~1,000,000 sure with the background you can just Blit so its swings and roundabouts. However you are free to use it as you wish and as it suits your needs.
Yeah the A500 is the Cost reduced A1000 of 85, and for 85 it is a total power house. The Amiga 500 can rival a 486DX4 100 in terms of productivity, its Multitasking capabilities and multimedia capabilities leave the others in the dust. At the same time the A1000 could emulate the Mac faster than the Mac could run it self. Only the Amiga multi-tasked and was in colour. You also have to look at the price in 87 an A500 was less than double a VGA card (The A500 was $700 while a VGA card was only $450, but you needed a $2000 machine to put it in
)
Yup the PS2 is the NEW Amiga in terms of being a total pain. To get the best performance out of an A500 takes care and optimisation but when you get the bus signing and the bits flying she punches way above her weight. Sure the PC VGA has 256 colours, but with a screen you can use differing ( I've turned 4 greens into "can't believe its not a 16bit gradient on mine" ) to boost the shades, and then you have music and not a beep.
The Amiga has a fascinating development history but I will try to summerise it.
Jeff Minter gets annoyed with Atari ( he designed the 8bit series and the POKEY ) leaves Atari with some engineers and promises to make a new console for them.
They then set up and start making the Lorraine. While Atari wants a video game console, they really want to make a multitasking computer so start making a console with a multitasking OS and disk drive support.
Atari starts to fall badly, and starts to want out of its deal
Commodore steps in and promises to fund and take the "computer" and leave Atari with the console tech.
Jack Trimeil is fired from Commodore, Takes over Atari and does everything he can do to get the Lorraine tech back from Commodore. Commodore decided they want the lot, massive fight. Commodore wins.
Commodore gets them to push on and make it a full fledged computer. But then had budget issues and wants them to cut the amount of RAM. The A1000 only has 256K it needs 512K
Commodore limps on in 85/6/7 the C64 and C128 are keeping them strong, but the C64 is really starting to show its age and the 128 falling behind in the business markets, while the Amiga is still pricey. They cut the A1000 down to make a new 128 and try to replace the C64 and 128 with it. The C64 still keeps kicking though, so basically the A500 becomes the new C128, by this point the A1000 has evolved into the 2000.
The Sprites in the Amiga are basically Atari sprites, the tech is identical to the A8 series.
If the A500 is too limiting for you there is the A1200 with AGA which boosts everything. More planes more colours more blitter more RAM, more bits in the audio samples, more Mhz, more instructions etc etc (although maybe not the sprites... )