diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ca241908e..eb250de0a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ Destination:
 * `linked_clone` - create VM as a linked clone from latest snapshot. `false` by default.
 
 Hardware customization:
-* `cpus` - number of CPU sockets. Inherited from source VM by default.
+* `CPUs` - number of CPU sockets. Inherited from source VM by default.
 * `ram` - Amount of RAM in megabytes. Inherited from source VM by default.
 
 Post-processing:
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ Post-processing:
       "datastore": "datastore1",
       "linked_clone": true,
 
-      "cpus": 2,
+      "CPUs": 2,
       "ram": 8192,
 
       "ssh_username": "root",
diff --git a/config.go b/config.go
index d3ed61457..641b97810 100644
--- a/config.go
+++ b/config.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	ShutdownTimeout    time.Duration
 
 	// Customization
-	Cpus            string `mapstructure:"cpus"`
+	CPUs            string `mapstructure:"CPUs"`
 	ShutdownCommand string `mapstructure:"shutdown_command"`
 	Ram             string `mapstructure:"RAM"`
 	CreateSnapshot  bool   `mapstructure:"create_snapshot"`
@@ -83,9 +83,9 @@ func NewConfig(raws ...interface{}) (*Config, []string, error) {
 	}
 
 	// Verify numeric parameters if present
-	if c.Cpus != "" {
-		if _, err = strconv.Atoi(c.Cpus); err != nil {
-			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, fmt.Errorf("Invalid number of cpu sockets"))
+	if c.CPUs != "" {
+		if _, err = strconv.Atoi(c.CPUs); err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, fmt.Errorf("Invalid number of CPU sockets"))
 		}
 	}
 	if c.Ram != "" {
diff --git a/config_test.go b/config_test.go
index 0e2de650c..63ff36b82 100644
--- a/config_test.go
+++ b/config_test.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ func TestMinimalConfig(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestInvalidCpu(t *testing.T) {
 	raw := minimalConfig()
-	raw["cpus"] = "string"
+	raw["CPUs"] = "string"
 	_, warns, errs := NewConfig(raw)
 	testConfigErr(t, warns, errs)
 }
diff --git a/step_configure_hw.go b/step_configure_hw.go
index 3f2b235e9..de91d7e4f 100644
--- a/step_configure_hw.go
+++ b/step_configure_hw.go
@@ -25,14 +25,14 @@ func (s *StepConfigureHW) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
 	var confSpec types.VirtualMachineConfigSpec
 	parametersFlag := ConfigParametersFlag{}
 	// configure HW
-	if s.config.Cpus != "" {
-		cpus, err := strconv.Atoi(s.config.Cpus)
+	if s.config.CPUs != "" {
+		CPUs, err := strconv.Atoi(s.config.CPUs)
 		if err != nil {
 			state.Put("error", err)
 			return multistep.ActionHalt
 		}
 
-		confSpec.NumCPUs = int32(cpus)
+		confSpec.NumCPUs = int32(CPUs)
 		parametersFlag.NumCPUsPtr = &(confSpec.NumCPUs)
 	}
 	if s.config.Ram != "" {