[lug] High load with 'w'

[Jeffrey Siegal]

Load average is a wierd statistic, as it measures two different things. 
  In terms of interactive response, there is not really a direct 
correlation between load and observed performance.  The two things that 
contribute to the load average are:

1. Processes waiting for disk.

2. Processes waiting for (or using) CPU.

Depending on the mix, and on what interactive tasks you are trying to 
perform, a high load might be present in both cases:

1. System so slow it is unusable

2. System not really slow at all

For example, if you have a lot of precesses blocked waiting for disk, 
and the tasks you're doing is mostly CPU, you might not notice the load 
at all.  In fact, the system might even be faster than normal, since all 
the other processes are blocked!