Hello all, ive been on the hunt for a decent hardtail mountain bike between 500-600$. im a 19 year old male, fit into a medium frame and have little to moderate experience on bikes, just looking to ride local mountains. i want something that will last and that can take a decent amount of abuse. ive been looking into the 06' and 07' GT Avalanche 2.0 disc and the 07' specialized hardtail sport disc. Any suggestions would be very appreciated and thanks in advance

also:
-RST shock v.s Suntour XCR?
-other bike suggestions besides the GT & Specialized within price range?