If you do want to spend money on hardware switches than you can use VNC (Virtual Network Computing) Technology from the telecom giant AT & T. VNC is GPLed and is a free software. Using VNC you can run PostgreSQL programs on computers without monitors and display on remote boxes with monitors!! But the boxes must be connected via ethernet Network Interface Cards. VNC is at http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc
You can stack up multiple CPU-boxes and connect to just one monitor and use the KVM (Keyboard, Video, Monitor) switch box to select the host. This saves space and avoids a lot of clutter and also eliminates monitor, keyboard and the mouse (saving anywhere from 100 to 500 US dollars per set).
Using this switch box, you can stack up many PostgreSQL servers (development, test, production), Web servers, ftp servers, Intranet servers, Mail servers, News servers in a tower shelf. The switch box can be used for controlling Windows 95/NT or OS/2 boxes as well.
Please check out these sites:
Search engine yahoo to find more companies with "Server Switches" or "KVM Switches".
It is strongly recommended to have a dedicated unix box for each PostgreSQL data-server for better performance. No other application program/processes should run on this box. See the Business section of your local newspapers for local vendors selling only intel box, 13" monochrome monitor (very low cost monitor). Local vendors sell just the hardware without any Microsoft Windows/DOS. You do not need a color monitor for the database server, as you can do remote administration from color PC workstation.
You can buy bare-bone computer hardware from online stores. You can get good rates in "Online Auctions"
Get RedHat (or some other distribution of) Linux cdrom from below -
Using KVM switch you can control many cpu boxes by just one monitor and one keyboard!