I am in the process of studying for the test now. Taking the course from the folks at StormWind.
Several suggestions -
1) I am using two Mac Mini's (late 2012) with 16GB of ram installed.
2) VMware Fusion is installed on both
3) Purchase a used Dell T300 to use as a iSCSI and NFS Target using ESXi and FreeNAS
I would suggest joining VMUG as this will get you in touch with folks in your area that have VMware experience and may be studying for this cert as well. Something else to consider is subscribing to VMUG Advantage which will get you a discounted price on VMware Fusion to start with. You also get a discount on the cost of the exam and training. I got in before the mid July deadline, so I also got a free exam voucher in addition to what I have already mentioned. While the free exam voucher isnt there now, I think the other benefits make the Advantage offering worth looking at.
Ron