diff --git a/hw/arm/realview.c b/hw/arm/realview.c
index f3a49b6..87cd1e5 100644
--- a/hw/arm/realview.c
+++ b/hw/arm/realview.c
@@ -57,7 +57,6 @@
 {
     ARMCPU *cpu = NULL;
     CPUARMState *env;
-    ObjectClass *cpu_oc;
     MemoryRegion *sysmem = get_system_memory();
     MemoryRegion *ram_lo;
     MemoryRegion *ram_hi = g_new(MemoryRegion, 1);
@@ -98,14 +97,8 @@
         break;
     }
 
-    cpu_oc = cpu_class_by_name(TYPE_ARM_CPU, machine->cpu_model);
-    if (!cpu_oc) {
-        fprintf(stderr, "Unable to find CPU definition\n");
-        exit(1);
-    }
-
     for (n = 0; n < smp_cpus; n++) {
-        Object *cpuobj = object_new(object_class_get_name(cpu_oc));
+        Object *cpuobj = object_new(machine->cpu_type);
 
         /* By default A9,A15 and ARM1176 CPUs have EL3 enabled.  This board
          * does not currently support EL3 so the CPU EL3 property is disabled
@@ -361,33 +354,21 @@
 
 static void realview_eb_init(MachineState *machine)
 {
-    if (!machine->cpu_model) {
-        machine->cpu_model = "arm926";
-    }
     realview_init(machine, BOARD_EB);
 }
 
 static void realview_eb_mpcore_init(MachineState *machine)
 {
-    if (!machine->cpu_model) {
-        machine->cpu_model = "arm11mpcore";
-    }
     realview_init(machine, BOARD_EB_MPCORE);
 }
 
 static void realview_pb_a8_init(MachineState *machine)
 {
-    if (!machine->cpu_model) {
-        machine->cpu_model = "cortex-a8";
-    }
     realview_init(machine, BOARD_PB_A8);
 }
 
 static void realview_pbx_a9_init(MachineState *machine)
 {
-    if (!machine->cpu_model) {
-        machine->cpu_model = "cortex-a9";
-    }
     realview_init(machine, BOARD_PBX_A9);
 }
 
@@ -399,6 +380,7 @@
     mc->init = realview_eb_init;
     mc->block_default_type = IF_SCSI;
     mc->ignore_memory_transaction_failures = true;
+    mc->default_cpu_type = ARM_CPU_TYPE_NAME("arm926");
 }
 
 static const TypeInfo realview_eb_type = {
@@ -416,6 +398,7 @@
     mc->block_default_type = IF_SCSI;
     mc->max_cpus = 4;
     mc->ignore_memory_transaction_failures = true;
+    mc->default_cpu_type = ARM_CPU_TYPE_NAME("arm11mpcore");
 }
 
 static const TypeInfo realview_eb_mpcore_type = {
@@ -431,6 +414,7 @@
     mc->desc = "ARM RealView Platform Baseboard for Cortex-A8";
     mc->init = realview_pb_a8_init;
     mc->ignore_memory_transaction_failures = true;
+    mc->default_cpu_type = ARM_CPU_TYPE_NAME("cortex-a8");
 }
 
 static const TypeInfo realview_pb_a8_type = {
@@ -447,6 +431,7 @@
     mc->init = realview_pbx_a9_init;
     mc->max_cpus = 4;
     mc->ignore_memory_transaction_failures = true;
+    mc->default_cpu_type = ARM_CPU_TYPE_NAME("cortex-a9");
 }
 
 static const TypeInfo realview_pbx_a9_type = {