diff --git a/spike/NOTES.md b/spike/NOTES.md
index 482dfbf..7966eb7 100644
--- a/spike/NOTES.md
+++ b/spike/NOTES.md
@@ -16,14 +16,20 @@
 
 ## What it doesn't prove (real limitations found)
 
-1. **VRAM ceiling, not a framework bug.** Running the full pipeline in one
-   process needs Ollama's gemma model and Shieldstral's llama-server (32k
-   ctx, ~5.6GB) resident at once. On this 8GB card that overflows CUDA
-   ("out of memory" from Ollama's own `/api/chat`, not from `ai-agents`).
-   The writer and judge legs each work fine in isolation. This constraint is
-   identical for the existing rig-core code — nothing here is
-   `ai-agents`-specific — but it means an actual migration would need to
-   confirm the current app doesn't already skirt this same ceiling.
+1. ~~VRAM ceiling~~ **Resolved — not a framework limitation at all.** The
+   initial failure (`cudaMalloc failed: out of memory` from Ollama's
+   `/api/chat`) was from running Shieldstral's `llama-server` at its
+   default `-ngl 999` (full GPU offload) alongside Ollama's own gemma
+   load — both fighting for the same 8GB card. Restarting `llama-server`
+   with `-ngl 0` (CPU-only, same flag this project already documents
+   using for Shieldstral) puts it entirely on CPU, and the full two-stage
+   `pipeline:` (writer -> judge) then runs cleanly end to end in one
+   process — GPU usage stayed flat at ~6GB (all Ollama) throughout. This
+   is a `llama-server` launch flag, not anything `ai-agents`-specific;
+   `ai-agents` never touches GPU/CPU placement itself, it only talks HTTP
+   to whatever backend is configured. `src/server.rs`'s `ensure_running()`
+   doesn't currently pass `-ngl`, so it would need an `-ngl 0` addition
+   (mirroring `server.toml`) to get the same behavior in the real app.
 2. **No logprob-based scoring.** `revise.rs`'s real `score()` function reads
    token logprobs off Shieldstral's response (see `models::ChatLogprobs`) to
    get a continuous 0.0-1.0 score, not a yes/no string. `ai-agents`'
@@ -44,21 +50,23 @@
 
 The declarative-YAML story checks out for *provider wiring and prompt
 config* — that part is genuinely config, not code, and matches the
-CrewAI-style ergonomics from the earlier conversation. It does **not**
-cleanly cover this project's actual judge mechanism (logprob scoring), so
-adopting it wholesale would be a partial rewrite of `revise.rs`'s scoring
-logic, not a drop-in replacement. Worth revisiting if a future judge model
-switches to yes/no-only verdicts, or if `ai-agents` grows raw-logprob
-access.
+CrewAI-style ergonomics from the earlier conversation, and the full
+two-stage pipeline now runs end to end against this project's real local
+models (see reproducing steps below). It does **not** cleanly cover this
+project's actual judge mechanism (logprob scoring), so adopting it
+wholesale would be a partial rewrite of `revise.rs`'s scoring logic, not a
+drop-in replacement. Worth revisiting if a future judge model switches to
+yes/no-only verdicts, or if `ai-agents` grows raw-logprob access.
 
 ## Reproducing
 
 ```
-ollama serve                      # writer leg
-# and/or
+ollama serve                      # writer leg (gemma)
+
 /home/austin/.local/share/llama.cpp/build/bin/llama-server \
   -m /home/austin/ai/Shieldstral-1.0-3B-BF16.gguf --jinja -c 32768 \
-  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000    # judge leg
+  --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000 -ngl 0   # judge leg, CPU-only so it
+                                         # doesn't fight gemma for VRAM
 
 cargo run --bin ai_agents_spike
 ```