@smerf: You have no idea of how the Minimig feels. I have several Amigas here (A600, A1200), the Minimig and UAE wich I can configure myself because I have a barely normal brain and I already paid for my KS ROMS when I was 10.
From UAE to a physical Amiga, the difference is enormous: even if I use 50Hz modes and I get perfect smooth 50Hz scroll in demos and games, UAE feels laggy, something's not right. I have shown this solution to friends and they all thing the same: it's not the same, there's a difference in control input, a noticeable input delay that affects games. Occasionally, there are also desyncs in the image: it's very hard to have a system with the bare minimal services running and configured priorities so UAE has the CPU all the time...
That's strange. I have been using WinUAE with the most intensive productivity applications (and the occasional game) for the past four years and have never noticed any of the above symptoms. I have really put UAE through its paces with super-hi-res graphics editing and also MIDI music work (where timing is absolutely critical). Most of the Amiga software I use in WinUAE requires a 68020 or even a 68040 CPU, etc. at it works extremely well.
This is all on a 2.8GHz single core PC. Trying to emulate a "simple" 68000 A500 is, in comparison, even easier on my system. If you are having problems, you should try WinUAE, I hear it's the most mature of the UAE versions. Also, often the problems you mention can be easily and permanently fixed by simple tweaks in the UAE settings.
I love real hardware Amigas, but I would have to say that WinUAE is frikkin' awesome! I can render a ray-traced picture in seconds that would take minutes or hours on my 68040 Amiga. Other than that, I'm not sure I would be able to tell if I was using a real Amiga or WinUAE if it was put to a blind test.
