chipppy,
Welcome chipppy. One thing you should be aware of is that the hardware you choose will determine whether your LinuxMCE experience is a success.
Basically, if you stick to the right hardware, most of it will probably work right out of the box. If you have problem with your hardware, and many others are using it, odds are that someone here can help you diagnose the problem. If, however, you choose to use unvetted or uncommon hardware, you'll probably need to put a lot of effort into getting it working.
Here's how I recommend you research what hardware works:
1. Look through the pages listed in the User Setups category of the wiki:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Category:User_Setups. Many experienced users and devs have listed their components and experiences there. I've put a description of my setup there.
2. Search the forums for threads of others asking for feedback on their hardware choices.
3. Once you have come up with your own list, ask for feedback on your choices in your own thread.
Cheers,
Alex