My question is simple: I'm using PostgreSQL 9.1 (will use 9.2 some time later) on my development machine (Linux amd64, quad core, 8GB ram). I've already turned fsync off for speed (because I don't care if my computer crashes, I can rebuild the schema and data at anytime), but I'm a bit confused about tuning the other factory defaults. I want it to be as fast as possible.
Distribution: Linux Mint Debian Edition (latest update pack)
Check the wiki: http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Simple_Configuration_Recommendation
Speed depends a lot on your usage pattern, not just the database configuration.
I wrote an answer on this topic earlier that might come in handy: Optimise PostgreSQL for fast testing.
Some of the tuning is quite workload dependent, so there isn't any one-size-fits-all option. See http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Tuning_Your_PostgreSQL_Server for some advice.
You need to configure the postgresql.conf file. And restart the database. See this link for the detailed configuration settings: http://tekadempiere.blogspot.ae/2014/09/tuning-postgresql-for-better-performance.html
