Please provide details of a few hardware options for a low to medium
capacity hosting service.  What is the approximate hardware cost?

You can use any normal computer to host, so if you have an old
computer sitting around you can use it as a server and make some extra
cash, just make sure you have a good internet connection. You could
also buy a reseller account from a company so you wont need to supply
the hardware, just some upfront money (An easier alternitive).

Thanks for your comment.  That is exactly what I wanted to know.