Since I've been doing this for over 20 years I have a little more insight than you do. Simply because I know how many men wish today that they would have taken advantage of their first cycle by using a gram of test. Yes you can get a nice cycle with 500mg. You can get a nice cycle with 300mg. But that's not the BEST cycle you can do. It's just a nice one.
Where do you go from a gram? Probably back to a gram with deca or Eq added. Or just back to a gram. You're not going to max out your gram on your first cycle. Even though you'll see explosive growth.
I don't expect newbies or casual observers of steroids to understand any of this. And I am used to people coming to me 3 years into cycling and saying, "you know you were right, I should have used a gram the first time". Even Quadsweep admits he wishes he would have used more on his first cycle and he's the King of low dosing. So you can rationalize all day why your 500mg is the right way to go, but I know it isn't.