diff --git a/assets/sai.css b/assets/sai.css
index 793e832..fc433c8 100644
--- a/assets/sai.css
+++ b/assets/sai.css
@@ -749,13 +749,15 @@ img.branch {
 	transition: height 0.2s ease-out; /* Smoothly animate height changes */
 }
 
-.inst_idle {
-	/* An idle instance can have a subtle border or effect if desired */
+.inst_idle {	
 	border-color: #555;
+	opacity: 0.5; /* Make idle instances semi-transparent */
+	transition: opacity 0.3s; /* Smoothly fade in/out */
 }
 
 .inst_busy {
-	/* A busy instance can have a brighter border */
 	border-color: #999;
+	opacity: 1.0; /* Ensure busy instances are fully opaque */
+	transition: opacity 0.3s;
 }
 
diff --git a/assets/sai.js b/assets/sai.js
index 1786fba..949eb57 100644
--- a/assets/sai.js
+++ b/assets/sai.js
@@ -1537,13 +1537,27 @@ function ws_open_sai()
 					// The bar is always the first (and only) child of the inst_box div.
 					const bar = instanceDiv.firstChild;
 					if (bar && bar.classList.contains("inst_bar")) {
-						let cpu_percentage = (instanceLoad.cpu_percent / 1000) * 100;
-						if (cpu_percentage > 100) cpu_percentage = 100;
+						// cpu_percent is in tenths of a percent, relative to ONE core.
+						// So 1000 = 100% = 1 full core.
+						let total_cpu_capacity = jso.core_count * 1000;
 						
-						// Let's add a minimum height so even a tiny load is visible
+						// Normalize the load to be a percentage of the ENTIRE system's capacity
+						let cpu_percentage = (instanceLoad.cpu_percent / total_cpu_capacity) * 100;
+
+						if (cpu_percentage > 100) cpu_percentage = 100;
+						if (cpu_percentage < 0) cpu_percentage = 0;
 						if (cpu_percentage > 0 && cpu_percentage < 1) cpu_percentage = 1;
 
 						bar.style.height = `${cpu_percentage}%`;
+
+						// Update the class for idle/busy state
+						if (instanceLoad.state) { // state == 1 means busy
+						    instanceDiv.classList.add("inst_busy");
+						    instanceDiv.classList.remove("inst_idle");
+						} else { // state == 0 means idle
+						    instanceDiv.classList.add("inst_idle");
+						    instanceDiv.classList.remove("inst_busy");
+						}
 					} else {
 						// This console log will tell us if the bar element is missing
 						console.error("Could not find .inst_bar child in .inst_box for", instanceDiv);
diff --git a/src/builder/b-comms.c b/src/builder/b-comms.c
index 0ebf7d7..aac38f5 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-comms.c
+++ b/src/builder/b-comms.c
@@ -600,6 +600,7 @@ saib_sul_load_report_cb(struct lws_sorted_usec_list *sul)
         * under one name.
         */
        lws_strncpy(lr->builder_name, builder.host, sizeof(lr->builder_name));
+       lr->core_count = saib_get_cpu_count();
 
        int system_load = saib_get_system_cpu(&builder);
 
diff --git a/src/builder/b-load.c b/src/builder/b-load.c
index 2074661..bdf3a4e 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-load.c
+++ b/src/builder/b-load.c
@@ -27,6 +27,29 @@
 #include <mach/mach_host.h>
 #endif
 
+#if defined(WIN32)
+#include <windows.h>
+#else
+#include <unistd.h>
+#endif
+
+int
+saib_get_cpu_count(void)
+{
+	long nprocs = -1;
+#if defined(WIN32)
+	SYSTEM_INFO sysinfo;
+	GetSystemInfo(&sysinfo);
+	nprocs = sysinfo.dwNumberOfProcessors;
+#elif defined(_SC_NPROCESSORS_ONLN)
+	nprocs = sysconf(_SC_NPROCESSORS_ONLN);
+#endif
+	if (nprocs < 1)
+		return 1; /* Fallback */
+
+	return (int)nprocs;
+}
+
 /*
  * Returns CPU usage as an integer from 0-1000 (for 0.0% to 100.0%)
  * or -1 on error.
diff --git a/src/builder/b-private.h b/src/builder/b-private.h
index 61255f6..fbc81f7 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-private.h
+++ b/src/builder/b-private.h
@@ -241,3 +241,5 @@ saib_get_cgroup_cpu(struct sai_nspawn *ns);
 
 int
 saib_get_system_cpu(struct sai_builder *b);
+
+int saib_get_cpu_count(void);
diff --git a/src/common/include/private.h b/src/common/include/private.h
index 387c314..e363331 100644
--- a/src/common/include/private.h
+++ b/src/common/include/private.h
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ typedef struct sai_platform_load {
 typedef struct sai_load_report {
 	lws_dll2_t		list; /* For queuing on sai_plat_server */
 	char			builder_name[64];
+	int			core_count;
 	lws_dll2_owner_t	platforms; /* List of sai_platform_load_t */
 } sai_load_report_t;
 
diff --git a/src/common/struct-metadata.c b/src/common/struct-metadata.c
index d8568b7..ff74673 100644
--- a/src/common/struct-metadata.c
+++ b/src/common/struct-metadata.c
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ const lws_struct_map_t lsm_platform_load[] = {
 
 const lws_struct_map_t lsm_load_report_members[] = {
 	LSM_CARRAY	(sai_load_report_t, builder_name, "builder_name"),
+	LSM_SIGNED	(sai_load_report_t, core_count,	"core_count"),
 	LSM_LIST	(sai_load_report_t, platforms, sai_platform_load_t, list,
 			 NULL, lsm_platform_load, "platforms"),
 };