[CentOS] High system load but low cpu usage

[Gordon Messmer]

On 06/08/2011 12:26 AM, Emmanuel Noobadmin wrote:
> I'm trying to figure out what's causing an average system load of 3+
> to 5+ on an Intel quad core

watch 'ps axf | awk "{ if ( \$3 !~ /S/ ) { print; } }"'

The processes that aren't sleeping count toward your load.  The above 
command will print non-sleeping processes.  If I'm not mistaken, that 
will tell you what's causing the load regardless of whether it's 
contention over CPU, IO, or other causes.

You can get similar data from "top" if you tell it to sort by process 
status ( F, w, Enter ) and then reverse the sort ( R ).