How fast should I expect to load data on a high performance computer? I am considering a model where I use PostgreSQL COPY to copy data from a file into a table. I was wondering what kind of performance to expect on high-end hardware. An interval in MB/s would be nice so I can start estimating. If you just know the answer on other databases, I would be interested to compare.
This is a bit hard to tell, what is high-end hardware?

Using Oracle on EMC storage 60MB/s is certainly possible.
Using that same old Oracle on exadata can be slightly faster, 300MB/s and sometimes higher, again, depending on the configuration. A full rack is faster than a half rack ...