diff --git a/packages/node/meshnet_node/dashboard.py b/packages/node/meshnet_node/dashboard.py
index f8e97c9..a12ab05 100644
--- a/packages/node/meshnet_node/dashboard.py
+++ b/packages/node/meshnet_node/dashboard.py
@@ -94,6 +94,19 @@ def _make_bar(pct: float, width: int = 10) -> str:
     return "█" * filled + "░" * (width - filled)
 
 
+def _node_stats(node) -> dict:
+    total = int(getattr(node, "total_requests", getattr(node, "chat_completion_count", 0)) or 0)
+    failed = int(getattr(node, "failed_requests", 0) or 0)
+    queue_depth = int(getattr(node, "queue_depth", 0) or 0)
+    success_rate = ((total - failed) / total * 100.0) if total else 100.0
+    return {
+        "total_requests": total,
+        "failed_requests": failed,
+        "queue_depth": queue_depth,
+        "success_rate": success_rate,
+    }
+
+
 def run_dashboard(node, config: dict, start_time: float) -> None:
     """Start the live dashboard. Blocks until Ctrl-C. Returns cleanly."""
     if not is_interactive_tty():
@@ -117,7 +130,8 @@ def _build_rich_renderable(
     from rich.text import Text  # type: ignore[import]
 
     uptime = time.monotonic() - start_time
-    req_count = getattr(node, "chat_completion_count", 0)
+    stats = _node_stats(node)
+    req_count = stats["total_requests"]
 
     # Tokens/sec EMA (approximate: 20 tokens per request heuristic when no real counter)
     delta_req = req_count - prev_req[0]
@@ -163,6 +177,7 @@ def _build_rich_renderable(
     stats_lines = [
         f"Tokens/sec   {tps_bar}  {tps:.1f} t/s (EMA)",
         f"Requests     {req_count:,} served",
+        f"Success      {stats['success_rate']:.1f}%  failed {stats['failed_requests']:,}  queue {stats['queue_depth']}",
         f"Peers        0 connected  (gossip: US-017)",
         f"TAI earned   0.00 TAI  (payments: US-006)",
         f"Uptime       {_format_uptime(uptime)}",
@@ -205,14 +220,17 @@ def _run_plain_loop(node, config: dict, start_time: float) -> None:
     try:
         while True:
             uptime = time.monotonic() - start_time
-            req = getattr(node, "chat_completion_count", 0)
+            stats = _node_stats(node)
+            req = stats["total_requests"]
             gpu_stats = _gpu_stats()
             vram_str = ""
             if gpu_stats:
                 g = gpu_stats[0]
                 vram_str = f"  VRAM{g['used_gb']:.1f}GB"
             print(
-                f"[{model_name}  req{req}{vram_str}  up{_format_uptime(uptime)}]",
+                f"[{model_name}  req{req}  ok{stats['success_rate']:.1f}%  "
+                f"fail{stats['failed_requests']}  q{stats['queue_depth']}"
+                f"{vram_str}  up{_format_uptime(uptime)}]",
                 flush=True,
             )
             time.sleep(2)
diff --git a/packages/node/meshnet_node/hardware.py b/packages/node/meshnet_node/hardware.py
index 33724dd..a392fd2 100644
--- a/packages/node/meshnet_node/hardware.py
+++ b/packages/node/meshnet_node/hardware.py
@@ -1,10 +1,23 @@
 """GPU hardware detection with graceful CPU fallback."""
 
+import os
 import subprocess
+import time
+
+
+def _detect_ram_mb() -> int:
+    """Return host physical RAM in MB, or 0 if unavailable."""
+    try:
+        pages = os.sysconf("SC_PHYS_PAGES")
+        page_size = os.sysconf("SC_PAGE_SIZE")
+        return int((pages * page_size) // (1024 * 1024))
+    except (AttributeError, OSError, ValueError):
+        return 0
 
 
 def detect_hardware() -> dict:
     """Detect GPU model and available VRAM. Returns hardware profile dict."""
+    ram_mb = _detect_ram_mb()
     try:
         import torch  # type: ignore[import]
         if torch.cuda.is_available():
@@ -12,7 +25,7 @@ def detect_hardware() -> dict:
             name = torch.cuda.get_device_name(idx)
             props = torch.cuda.get_device_properties(idx)
             vram_mb = props.total_memory // (1024 * 1024)
-            return {"device": "cuda", "gpu_name": name, "vram_mb": vram_mb}
+            return {"device": "cuda", "gpu_name": name, "vram_mb": vram_mb, "ram_mb": ram_mb}
     except ImportError:
         pass
 
@@ -26,8 +39,54 @@ def detect_hardware() -> dict:
             parts = line.split(",", 1)
             gpu_name = parts[0].strip()
             vram_mb = int(parts[1].strip()) if len(parts) > 1 else 0
-            return {"device": "cuda", "gpu_name": gpu_name, "vram_mb": vram_mb}
+            return {"device": "cuda", "gpu_name": gpu_name, "vram_mb": vram_mb, "ram_mb": ram_mb}
     except (FileNotFoundError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired, ValueError, IndexError):
         pass
 
-    return {"device": "cpu", "gpu_name": None, "vram_mb": 0}
+    return {"device": "cpu", "gpu_name": None, "vram_mb": 0, "ram_mb": ram_mb}
+
+
+def benchmark_throughput(device_str: str = "cpu") -> float:
+    """
+    Estimate compute throughput via a synthetic transformer GEMM benchmark.
+
+    Runs hidden_size × (hidden_size*4) matmul — the dominant op in FFN layers —
+    and returns iterations/second as a relative speed index.  Higher = faster.
+    The value is used as benchmark_tokens_per_sec in tracker registration for
+    routing tiebreaks; it is not an absolute token rate.
+
+    Falls back to 1.0 if torch is unavailable.
+    """
+    try:
+        import torch  # type: ignore[import]
+
+        device = torch.device(device_str)
+        # bfloat16 on CUDA matches real inference dtype; float32 on CPU avoids
+        # precision-downcast surprises on older hardware without bfloat16 support.
+        dtype = torch.bfloat16 if device_str == "cuda" else torch.float32
+
+        # hidden_size=2048 is representative of a mid-sized model; large enough
+        # that BLAS finds an efficient kernel on both GPU and CPU.
+        hidden_size = 2048
+        a = torch.randn(1, hidden_size, dtype=dtype, device=device)
+        b = torch.randn(hidden_size, hidden_size * 4, dtype=dtype, device=device)
+
+        def _sync() -> None:
+            if device_str == "cuda":
+                torch.cuda.synchronize()
+
+        # Warmup: prime caches and JIT compilation.
+        for _ in range(10):
+            torch.matmul(a, b)
+        _sync()
+
+        n_iters = 50
+        t0 = time.perf_counter()
+        for _ in range(n_iters):
+            torch.matmul(a, b)
+        _sync()
+        elapsed = time.perf_counter() - t0
+
+        return round(n_iters / max(elapsed, 1e-9), 2)
+    except Exception:
+        return 1.0
diff --git a/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py b/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
index 5a02977..a5db230 100644
--- a/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
+++ b/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any
 
 from .downloader import compute_shard_checksum, download_shard
-from .hardware import detect_hardware
+from .hardware import detect_hardware, benchmark_throughput
 from .relay_bridge import RelayHttpBridge, peer_id_from_wallet
 from .server import StubNodeServer
 from .torch_server import TorchNodeServer
@@ -359,12 +359,18 @@ def run_startup(
         print(f"  GPU: {gpu_name} ({vram_mb / 1024:.1f} GB VRAM, {ram_mb / 1024:.1f} GB RAM)", flush=True)
 
     memory_budget_mb, memory_budget_source = _memory_budget(vram_mb, ram_mb)
-    print(f"  Memory budget: {memory_budget_mb} MB {memory_budget_source}", flush=True)
+    print(f"  Memory budget: {memory_budget_mb / 1024:.1f} GB {memory_budget_source}", flush=True)
+
+    print("Benchmarking compute...", flush=True)
+    bench_tps = benchmark_throughput(device)
+    device_label = "GPU" if device == "cuda" else "CPU"
+    print(f"  {device_label} throughput index: {bench_tps:,.0f}", flush=True)
 
     registration_capabilities = {
         "vram_bytes": max(0, int(vram_mb)) * 1024 * 1024,
         "ram_bytes": max(0, int(ram_mb)) * 1024 * 1024,
         "max_loaded_shards": max_loaded_shards,
+        "benchmark_tokens_per_sec": bench_tps,
     }
     # 2. Wallet
     print("Loading wallet...", flush=True)
@@ -479,6 +485,7 @@ def run_startup(
             f"  Endpoint:     {endpoint}\n"
             f"  Node ID:      {tracker_node_id or 'unregistered'}\n"
             f"  Hardware:     {device.upper()}\n"
+            f"  Benchmark:    {bench_tps:,.0f} (throughput index)\n"
             f"{'=' * 32}",
             flush=True,
         )
@@ -571,6 +578,7 @@ def run_startup(
             f"  Endpoint:     {endpoint}\n"
             f"  Node ID:      {tracker_node_id or 'unregistered'}\n"
             f"  Hardware:     {device.upper()}\n"
+            f"  Benchmark:    {bench_tps:,.0f} (throughput index)\n"
             f"{'=' * 32}",
             flush=True,
         )
@@ -671,6 +679,7 @@ def run_startup(
         f"  Endpoint: {endpoint}\n"
         f"  Node ID:  {node_id}\n"
         f"  Hardware: {hw_str}\n"
+        f"  Benchmark: {bench_tps:,.0f} (throughput index)\n"
         f"{'=' * 32}",
         flush=True,
     )
diff --git a/packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/server.py b/packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/server.py
index e15e773..0b9f6d5 100644
--- a/packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/server.py
+++ b/packages/tracker/meshnet_tracker/server.py
@@ -429,24 +429,38 @@ def _node_quantization(node: _NodeEntry, preset: dict) -> str:
     return next(iter(bytes_per_layer))
 
 
+def _node_memory_budget_bytes(node: _NodeEntry) -> tuple[int, str]:
+    """Return the memory pool used for shard-capacity planning."""
+    if node.vram_bytes > 0:
+        return node.vram_bytes, "vram"
+    if node.ram_bytes > 0:
+        return node.ram_bytes, "ram"
+    return DEFAULT_RAM_BYTES, "ram-default"
+
+
 def _node_layer_capacity(node: _NodeEntry, preset: dict) -> int:
     bytes_per_layer = _preset_bytes_per_layer(preset)
     quantization = _node_quantization(node, preset)
     layer_bytes = bytes_per_layer[quantization]
     if layer_bytes <= 0:
         return 0
-    return int((node.vram_bytes * 0.8) // layer_bytes)
+    memory_budget_bytes, _ = _node_memory_budget_bytes(node)
+    return int((memory_budget_bytes * 0.8) // layer_bytes)
 
 
 def _node_capacity_summary(node: _NodeEntry, preset: dict | None = None) -> dict:
     """Operator-facing capacity fields for inspection endpoints."""
+    memory_budget_bytes, memory_budget_source = _node_memory_budget_bytes(node)
     summary = {
         "vram_bytes": node.vram_bytes,
         "ram_bytes": node.ram_bytes,
+        "memory_budget_bytes": memory_budget_bytes,
+        "memory_budget_source": memory_budget_source,
         "max_loaded_shards": node.max_loaded_shards,
         "quantizations": list(node.quantizations),
         "quantization": node.quantization,
         "benchmark_tokens_per_sec": node.benchmark_tokens_per_sec,
+        "effective_throughput": round(_effective_throughput(node), 4),
     }
     if preset is not None:
         summary["max_assignable_layers"] = _node_layer_capacity(node, preset)
@@ -1154,6 +1168,7 @@ class _TrackerHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
                     "tracker_mode": node.tracker_mode,
                     "last_heartbeat": node.last_heartbeat,
                     "capacity": capacity_for(node),
+                    "stats": _node_health(node, server.heartbeat_timeout),
                 }
                 for node in nodes
             ],
@@ -1567,8 +1582,11 @@ class _TrackerHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
 
         shard_info = f"layers {shard_start}-{shard_end}" if shard_start is not None else "unsharded"
         repo_info = f" [{hf_repo}]" if hf_repo else ""
+        budget_bytes, budget_source = _node_memory_budget_bytes(entry)
+        budget_gb = budget_bytes / (1024 ** 3)
         print(
-            f"[tracker] node registered: {node_id}  {endpoint}  {model}{repo_info}  {shard_info}",
+            f"[tracker] node registered: {node_id}  {endpoint}  {model}{repo_info}  {shard_info}  "
+            f"capacity={budget_gb:.1f}GB {budget_source} slots={max_loaded_shards}",
             flush=True,
         )
 
@@ -1707,6 +1725,7 @@ class _TrackerHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
           model   — model preset name (default: first preset)
           device  — "cuda" | "cpu"
           vram_mb — integer VRAM in MB (0 for CPU)
+          ram_mb  — integer system RAM in MB, used when vram_mb=0
 
         The greedy strategy: find the first gap in current layer coverage
         and assign it.  If no gap exists, assign the full model range so the
@@ -1745,8 +1764,16 @@ class _TrackerHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             vram_mb = int(params.get("vram_mb", ["0"])[0])
         except ValueError:
             vram_mb = 0
+        try:
+            ram_mb = int(params.get("ram_mb", ["0"])[0])
+        except ValueError:
+            ram_mb = 0
         max_layers = required_end - required_start + 1
-        if device != "cuda" or vram_mb < 8192:
+        memory_mb = vram_mb if vram_mb > 0 else ram_mb
+        if memory_mb > 0:
+            layer_bytes = _preset_bytes_per_layer(preset).get("bfloat16", 30 * 1024 * 1024)
+            max_layers = min(max_layers, max(1, int(((memory_mb * 1024 * 1024) * 0.8) // layer_bytes)))
+        elif device != "cuda" or vram_mb < 8192:
             max_layers = min(max_layers, 16)
 
         # Collect covered intervals sorted by start layer.
@@ -1798,6 +1825,7 @@ class _TrackerHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
 
         Query params:
           vram_mb  — integer VRAM in MB (0 = CPU-only node)
+          ram_mb   — integer system RAM in MB, used when vram_mb=0
           device   — "cuda" | "cpu"
           hf_repo  — optional; if set, restrict search to this repo only
 
@@ -1811,6 +1839,10 @@ class _TrackerHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             vram_mb = int(params.get("vram_mb", ["0"])[0])
         except ValueError:
             vram_mb = 0
+        try:
+            ram_mb = int(params.get("ram_mb", ["0"])[0])
+        except ValueError:
+            ram_mb = 0
         device = params.get("device", ["cpu"])[0]
         filter_repo = params.get("hf_repo", [None])[0]  # optional repo filter
 
@@ -1894,9 +1926,15 @@ class _TrackerHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             best_gap_start = 0
             best_num_layers = repo_layers[best_repo]
 
-        # Capacity: CPU nodes get at most half the layers; CUDA nodes based on VRAM.
+        # Capacity: use the same 80%-of-memory rule as registered node planning.
         total_l = best_num_layers
-        if device == "cuda" and vram_mb >= 8192:
+        memory_mb = vram_mb if vram_mb > 0 else ram_mb
+        if memory_mb > 0:
+            max_layers = min(
+                total_l,
+                max(1, int(((memory_mb * 1024 * 1024) * 0.8) // (30 * 1024 * 1024))),
+            )
+        elif device == "cuda" and vram_mb >= 8192:
             max_layers = total_l
         else:
             max_layers = max(1, total_l // 2)
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee9c069
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+"""Shared pytest fixtures for the meshnet test suite."""
+
+import pytest
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _stub_benchmark_throughput(monkeypatch):
+    """Replace the GEMM benchmark with a fixed value in all tests.
+
+    The benchmark runs 60 matmuls (warmup + measure) which adds ~100ms per test
+    on CPU. Tests verify registration flow, not hardware speed — stub it out.
+    Tests that specifically exercise benchmark_throughput import it directly from
+    meshnet_node.hardware and are not affected by this patch.
+    """
+    try:
+        import meshnet_node.startup as startup_mod
+        monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "benchmark_throughput", lambda _device: 999.0)
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
diff --git a/tests/test_node_startup.py b/tests/test_node_startup.py
index e77a554..4c64ab6 100644
--- a/tests/test_node_startup.py
+++ b/tests/test_node_startup.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 import pytest
 
 from meshnet_node.downloader import download_shard, write_shard_archive
-from meshnet_node.hardware import detect_hardware
+from meshnet_node.hardware import detect_hardware, benchmark_throughput
 from meshnet_node.startup import (
     _infer_relay_url_from_tracker,
     _probationary_status_line,
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ def test_detect_hardware_returns_valid_profile():
     hw = detect_hardware()
     assert hw["device"] in {"cuda", "cpu"}
     assert isinstance(hw.get("vram_mb"), int)
+    assert isinstance(hw.get("ram_mb"), int)
+    assert hw["ram_mb"] > 0
     if hw["device"] == "cpu":
         assert hw["gpu_name"] is None
         assert hw["vram_mb"] == 0
@@ -39,6 +41,62 @@ def test_detect_hardware_returns_valid_profile():
         assert hw["vram_mb"] > 0
 
 
+def test_benchmark_throughput_cpu_returns_positive():
+    """CPU benchmark returns a positive float greater than the 1.0 error fallback."""
+    result = benchmark_throughput("cpu")
+    assert isinstance(result, float)
+    assert result > 1.0, f"expected benchmark > 1.0, got {result}"
+
+
+def test_benchmark_throughput_fallback_on_bad_device():
+    """benchmark_throughput returns 1.0 (not raises) when device is invalid."""
+    result = benchmark_throughput("invalid_device_xyz")
+    assert result == 1.0
+
+
+def test_benchmark_throughput_is_registered_in_payload(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """benchmark_tokens_per_sec from the benchmark is included in the tracker registration."""
+    import meshnet_node.startup as startup_mod
+
+    captured: dict = {}
+
+    class FakeNode:
+        backend = None
+        tracker_node_id = None
+
+        def start(self):
+            return 7099
+
+        def stop(self):
+            pass
+
+        def apply_tracker_directives(self, directives):
+            return None
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "detect_hardware",
+                        lambda: {"device": "cpu", "gpu_name": None, "vram_mb": 0, "ram_mb": 16384})
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "benchmark_throughput", lambda _device: 42.5)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "TorchNodeServer", lambda **_kw: FakeNode())
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "_detect_num_layers", lambda _model_id: 24)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "RelayHttpBridge", None)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "_get_json",
+                        lambda _url, timeout=10.0: {"relay_url": None, "nodes": []})
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "_post_json",
+                        lambda _url, payload, timeout=10.0: (captured.update(payload) or {"node_id": "x"}))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "_start_heartbeat", lambda *a, **kw: None)
+
+    node = run_startup(
+        tracker_url="http://localhost:8080",
+        model_id="Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct",
+        shard_start=0,
+        shard_end=23,
+        wallet_path=tmp_path / "wallet.json",
+    )
+    node.stop()
+
+    assert captured.get("benchmark_tokens_per_sec") == 42.5
+
+
 def test_wallet_generates_new_keypair(tmp_path):
     """A new wallet is created when none exists, saved to disk."""
     wallet_file = tmp_path / "wallet.json"
@@ -490,6 +548,70 @@ def test_real_model_startup_summary_shows_total_layers(tmp_path, monkeypatch, ca
     assert "Node ID:      node-test-123" in output
 
 
+def test_real_model_startup_autodetects_cpu_memory_budget_and_logs_shard_budget(
+    tmp_path,
+    monkeypatch,
+    capsys,
+):
+    """Without --memory, startup reports RAM-backed capacity to the tracker and operator."""
+    import meshnet_node.startup as startup_mod
+    captured_registration = {}
+
+    class FakeBackend:
+        total_layers = 24
+
+    class FakeTorchNodeServer:
+        def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+            self.kwargs = kwargs
+            self.backend = FakeBackend()
+            self.port = None
+            self.total_requests = 0
+            self.failed_requests = 0
+            self.queue_depth = 0
+
+        def start(self):
+            self.port = 8001
+            return self.port
+
+        def stop(self):
+            pass
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        startup_mod,
+        "detect_hardware",
+        lambda: {"device": "cpu", "gpu_name": None, "vram_mb": 0, "ram_mb": 16384},
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(startup_mod, "TorchNodeServer", FakeTorchNodeServer)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        startup_mod,
+        "_post_json",
+        lambda _url, _payload, timeout=10.0: (
+            captured_registration.update(_payload) or {"node_id": "node-auto-mem"}
+        ),
+    )
+
+    node = run_startup(
+        tracker_url="http://127.0.0.1:8080",
+        model_id="Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct",
+        shard_start=0,
+        shard_end=23,
+        wallet_path=tmp_path / "wallet.json",
+    )
+    try:
+        pass
+    finally:
+        node.stop()
+
+    assert captured_registration["vram_bytes"] == 0
+    assert captured_registration["ram_bytes"] == 16384 * 1024 * 1024
+    assert captured_registration["max_loaded_shards"] == 1
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert "Memory budget: 16.0 GB RAM" in output
+    assert "Shard budget: up to 24/24 layers at bfloat16" in output
+    assert "GB remaining after full load" in output
+    assert "Node ID:      node-auto-mem" in output
+
+
 def test_public_tracker_model_node_registers_relay_metadata_from_tracker_url_only(
     tmp_path,
     monkeypatch,