diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ce0a7dc5..79b1f813 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+### Changed
+
+- Remove `machine_type` from examples and clear up in docs that this field
+  requires a feature flag and is not recommended for use.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - Update docs to reflect that maintenance windows are for Advanced clusters
diff --git a/docs/resources/cluster.md b/docs/resources/cluster.md
index 1da2a01a..f647865c 100644
--- a/docs/resources/cluster.md
+++ b/docs/resources/cluster.md
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "advanced" {
   cloud_provider = "GCP"
   plan           = "ADVANCED"
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = 15
-    machine_type = "n2-standard-4"
+    storage_gib      = 15
+    num_virtual_cpus = 4
   }
   regions = [
     {
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ Optional:
 
 - `cidr_range` (String) The IPv4 range in CIDR format that will be used by the cluster. This is supported only on GCP, and must have a subnet mask no larger than /19. Defaults to "172.28.0.0/14". This cannot be changed after cluster creation.
 - `disk_iops` (Number) Number of disk I/O operations per second that are permitted on each node in the cluster. Omitting this attribute will result in the cloud provider-specific default.
-- `machine_type` (String) Machine type identifier within the given cloud provider, e.g., m6.xlarge, n2-standard-4.
+- `machine_type` (String) Machine type identifier within the given cloud provider, e.g., m6.xlarge, n2-standard-4. This attribute requires a feature flag to be enabled. It is recommended to leave this empty and use `num_virtual_cpus` to control the machine type.
 - `num_virtual_cpus` (Number) Number of virtual CPUs per node in the cluster.
 - `private_network_visibility` (Boolean) Set to true to assign private IP addresses to nodes. Required for CMEK and other advanced networking features. Clusters created with this flag will have advanced security features enabled.  This cannot be changed after cluster creation and incurs additional charges.  See [Create an Advanced Cluster](https://www.cockroachlabs.com/docs/cockroachcloud/create-an-advanced-cluster.html#step-6-configure-advanced-security-features) and [Pricing](https://www.cockroachlabs.com/pricing/) for more information.
 - `storage_gib` (Number) Storage amount per node in GiB.
diff --git a/examples/resources/cockroach_cluster/resource.tf b/examples/resources/cockroach_cluster/resource.tf
index fbcd8ba1..5203da7f 100644
--- a/examples/resources/cockroach_cluster/resource.tf
+++ b/examples/resources/cockroach_cluster/resource.tf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "advanced" {
   cloud_provider = "GCP"
   plan           = "ADVANCED"
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = 15
-    machine_type = "n2-standard-4"
+    storage_gib      = 15
+    num_virtual_cpus = 4
   }
   regions = [
     {
diff --git a/examples/workflows/aws_privatelink/main.tf b/examples/workflows/aws_privatelink/main.tf
index 4031cbf9..42c3cdc8 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/aws_privatelink/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/aws_privatelink/main.tf
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "m5.large"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 variable "subnets" {
@@ -88,8 +88,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   name           = var.cluster_name
   cloud_provider = "AWS"
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type = var.machine_type
+    storage_gib      = var.storage_gib
+    num_virtual_cpus = var.vcpu_count
   }
   regions = [{
     name       = var.aws_region
diff --git a/examples/workflows/cockroach_client_ca_cert/main.tf b/examples/workflows/cockroach_client_ca_cert/main.tf
index 9835f095..a93a5cc2 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/cockroach_client_ca_cert/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/cockroach_client_ca_cert/main.tf
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "n2-standard-2"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 terraform {
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   name           = var.cluster_name
   cloud_provider = var.cloud_provider
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type = var.machine_type
+    storage_gib      = var.storage_gib
+    num_virtual_cpus = var.vcpu_count
   }
   regions = [
     for r in var.cloud_provider_regions : {
diff --git a/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/aws/main.tf b/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/aws/main.tf
index 93d6c640..229a88f8 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/aws/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/aws/main.tf
@@ -32,10 +32,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "m5.large"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 terraform {
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   cloud_provider = "AWS"
   dedicated = {
     storage_gib                = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type               = var.machine_type
+    num_virtual_cpus           = var.vcpu_count
     private_network_visibility = true
   }
   regions = [{
diff --git a/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/gcp/main.tf b/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/gcp/main.tf
index ef6f5fa0..6d34f1c8 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/gcp/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/cockroach_cmek/gcp/main.tf
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "n2-standard-2"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 terraform {
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   cloud_provider = "GCP"
   dedicated = {
     storage_gib                = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type               = var.machine_type
+    num_virtual_cpus           = var.vcpu_count
     private_network_visibility = true
   }
   regions = [{
diff --git a/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/aws_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf b/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/aws_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf
index 4ecc6eca..a7dd4d30 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/aws_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/aws_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "m5.large"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 variable "iam_role_name" {
@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   name           = var.cluster_name
   cloud_provider = "AWS"
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type = var.machine_type
+    storage_gib      = var.storage_gib
+    num_virtual_cpus = var.vcpu_count
   }
   regions = [{
     name       = var.aws_region,
diff --git a/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/gcp_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf b/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/gcp_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf
index 44a9cc58..2b6fc499 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/gcp_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/cockroach_log_export_config/gcp_cockroach_log_export_config/main.tf
@@ -26,10 +26,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "n2-standard-2"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 variable "iam_role_id" {
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   name           = var.cluster_name
   cloud_provider = "GCP"
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type = var.machine_type
+    storage_gib      = var.storage_gib
+    num_virtual_cpus = var.vcpu_count
   }
   regions = [{
     name       = var.gcp_region,
diff --git a/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/aws/main.tf b/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/aws/main.tf
index 6018b497..53aa8099 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/aws/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/aws/main.tf
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "m5.large"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 variable "iam_role_name" {
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   name           = var.cluster_name
   cloud_provider = "AWS"
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type = var.machine_type
+    storage_gib      = var.storage_gib
+    num_virtual_cpus = var.vcpu_count
   }
   regions = [{
     name       = var.aws_region,
diff --git a/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/gcp/main.tf b/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/gcp/main.tf
index 2f717427..cc516a5d 100644
--- a/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/gcp/main.tf
+++ b/examples/workflows/cockroach_metric_export/gcp/main.tf
@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@ variable "storage_gib" {
   default  = 15
 }
 
-variable "machine_type" {
-  type     = string
+variable "vcpu_count" {
+  type     = number
   nullable = false
-  default  = "n2-standard-2"
+  default  = 4
 }
 
 variable "gcp_region" {
@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ resource "cockroach_cluster" "example" {
   name           = var.cluster_name
   cloud_provider = "GCP"
   dedicated = {
-    storage_gib  = var.storage_gib
-    machine_type = var.machine_type
+    storage_gib      = var.storage_gib
+    num_virtual_cpus = var.vcpu_count
   }
   regions = [{
     name       = var.gcp_region,
diff --git a/internal/provider/cluster_resource.go b/internal/provider/cluster_resource.go
index 6d5b028b..c31af80b 100644
--- a/internal/provider/cluster_resource.go
+++ b/internal/provider/cluster_resource.go
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ func (r *clusterResource) Schema(
 					"machine_type": schema.StringAttribute{
 						Optional:    true,
 						Computed:    true,
-						Description: "Machine type identifier within the given cloud provider, e.g., m6.xlarge, n2-standard-4.",
+						MarkdownDescription: "Machine type identifier within the given cloud provider, e.g., m6.xlarge, n2-standard-4. This attribute requires a feature flag to be enabled. It is recommended to leave this empty and use `num_virtual_cpus` to control the machine type.",
 					},
 					"num_virtual_cpus": schema.Int64Attribute{
 						Optional:    true,