Stick with a hardtail. If you went for a soft tail for that much money you will get crap components. IMHO buy the absolutely best frame you can. When and as components die replace them with better stuff.
www.coloradocyclist.com for build kits if you are feeling very motivated but probably not worth it at your price point at the mo. As a guide they wanted approx US$200 to freight a build kit over. Everything except frame and forks.
IMHO I would wait until you could afford to spend approx $1000. Opens up a lot more options.
My 2C
Brendon