diff --git a/deploy/site/stats.html b/deploy/site/stats.html
index b4e9915..d2f0ddf 100644
--- a/deploy/site/stats.html
+++ b/deploy/site/stats.html
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ footer a:hover{color:var(--hot);border-bottom-color:var(--water)}
 .stat .v small{font-size:.9rem;color:var(--dim)}
 .stat .l{font-size:.7rem;color:var(--dim);letter-spacing:.22em;text-transform:uppercase}
 .stat .s{font-size:.74rem;color:var(--dim)}
+.note{color:var(--dim);font-size:.78rem;max-width:58ch;text-align:center;line-height:1.7}
 @media (max-width:640px){.grid{grid-template-columns:repeat(2,1fr)}.wrap{padding:0 1.5ch}}
 </style>
 </head>
@@ -63,10 +64,15 @@ footer a:hover{color:var(--hot);border-bottom-color:var(--water)}
   </div>
   <div class="sect">the machine</div>
   <div class="grid">
-    <div class="stat"><span class="v" id="rss">—</span><span class="l">memory</span><span class="s">resident set</span></div>
+    <div class="stat"><span class="v" id="rss">—</span><span class="l">memory</span><span class="s" id="rss-sub">resident set</span></div>
     <div class="stat"><span class="v" id="free">—</span><span class="l">disk free</span><span class="s">on the archive volume</span></div>
     <div class="stat"><span class="v" id="uptime">—</span><span class="l">uptime</span><span class="s" id="uptime-sub"></span></div>
   </div>
+  <p class="note">the resident set is what this archive costs to serve: every
+  per-block DID bloom stays in memory so account lookups can skip blocks
+  without touching disk, and that working set sets the floor on the RAM —
+  and therefore the machine — we rent. shrinking it (right-sizing blooms to
+  measured cardinality) is what lets the whole network fit a small box.</p>
 </main>
 <footer>
   <a href="/">home</a>
@@ -133,7 +139,12 @@ async function fetchMetrics(){
   if(blocks !== null) $("served").textContent = fmtCount(blocks);
   if(blockBytes !== null) $("served-sub").textContent = fmtBytes(blockBytes).join(" ") + " of compressed history";
   const rss = m("process_resident_memory_bytes");
-  if(rss !== null) setBytes("rss", rss);
+  if(rss !== null){
+    setBytes("rss", rss);
+    // BOX_RAM: update when the instance moves to different hardware
+    const BOX_RAM = 128e9;
+    $("rss-sub").textContent = "resident set · " + Math.round(rss/BOX_RAM*100) + "% of the box's " + fmtBytes(BOX_RAM).join(" ") + " ram";
+  }
   const free = m("jetstream_data_dir_free_bytes");
   if(free !== null) setBytes("free", free);
 }