2.4.9 performance issue

[Paulo da Silva]

Hi,

I used to listen mp3 files, using mpg123 -b 2048 -z (nice -15, for ex. -
sometimes I forget this!), without any interruption, even with
an relatively overloaded system! This was one
of my arguments when advertising Linux performance.

Now I'm getting, from times to times, some interruptions,
without any relevant workload.
I have noticed that when this happens, the kswapd task is allways
on the top of "top" program, CPU sorted.

I'm not sure at what kernel this began to happen, since I am
changing the recent kernels (2.4.x) at the same rate they are
released. Currently I'm using 2.4.9.

If you need any further information, please email me, because
I'm not sure what info is pertinent for an eventual analisys.
I'm also able to perform any test you may find useful even
to change and recompile the sources.

Best regards,
Paulo da Silva