diff --git a/src/xpk/core/scheduling.py b/src/xpk/core/scheduling.py
index 8bc18c66..00c23f72 100644
--- a/src/xpk/core/scheduling.py
+++ b/src/xpk/core/scheduling.py
@@ -25,86 +25,83 @@
 
 
 def check_if_workload_can_schedule(args, system: SystemCharacteristics) -> bool:
-  """Check if workload can schedule based on the cluster resources (tpu_type and maximum VM in cluster).
+  """Check if workload can schedule based on the cluster resources.
+
+  This function validates that the resource requested by the user exists in the
+  cluster's resource manifest (a ConfigMap) and that the requested quantity
+  (e.g., number of VMs) does not exceed the available quantity.
 
   Args:
-    args: user provided arguments for running the command.
-    system: system characteristics
+    args: User-provided arguments for running the command.
+    system: System characteristics derived from the user's request.
 
   Returns:
-    returns true if workload can schedule, otherwise returns false.
+    True if the workload can be scheduled, otherwise False.
   """
   resources_configmap_name = f'{args.cluster}-{CLUSTER_RESOURCES_CONFIGMAP}'
   cluster_config_map = get_cluster_configmap(args, resources_configmap_name)
 
-  # Prevents workload creation failure for existing clusters with no ConfigMap
+  # If no ConfigMap exists, we cannot validate, so we optimistically proceed.
+  # This maintains compatibility with older cluster setups.
   if cluster_config_map is None:
     xpk_print(
-        'No ConfigMap exist for cluster with the name'
-        f' {resources_configmap_name}.'
+        f"Warning: Could not find resource ConfigMap '{resources_configmap_name}'. "
+        "Proceeding without resource validation."
     )
     return True
 
-  # Check for gke accelerator type:
-  missing_gke_accelerator_type = False
-  if not cluster_config_map.get(system.gke_accelerator):
+  # The user-facing device type (e.g., 'v5litepod-32') is the single source
+  # of truth for identifying the resource in the cluster's manifest.
+  user_facing_device_type = args.tpu_type if args.tpu_type else args.device_type
+
+  # --- Primary Validation ---
+  # Check if the cluster's resource manifest contains an entry for the exact
+  # device type the user requested. This is the only reliable existence check.
+  if user_facing_device_type not in cluster_config_map:
     xpk_print(
-        f'Gke Accelerator Type Check: {args.workload} is requesting'
-        f' {system.gke_accelerator} but cluster only contains'
-        f' {cluster_config_map.keys()}. '
+        f"Device Type Check Failed: Workload '{args.workload}' is requesting "
+        f"device type '{user_facing_device_type}', but the cluster's resource "
+        f"manifest only contains entries for: {list(cluster_config_map.keys())}. "
+        "The cluster may not be provisioned with this hardware type."
     )
-    missing_gke_accelerator_type = True
-  elif (
-      cluster_config_map[system.gke_accelerator]
+    return False
+
+  # --- Quantity Validation ---
+
+  # Handle autoprovisioning capacity checks.
+  if (
+      cluster_config_map[user_facing_device_type]
       == AUTOPROVISIONING_CONFIG_VALUE
   ):
-    # Run total chip check when in autoprovisioning mode.
     max_chips_in_cluster = int(
-        cluster_config_map[AUTOPROVISIONING_CONFIG_MAXIMUM_KEY]
+        cluster_config_map.get(AUTOPROVISIONING_CONFIG_MAXIMUM_KEY, 0)
     )
     num_chips_in_workload = get_total_chips_requested_from_args(args, system)
 
     if num_chips_in_workload > max_chips_in_cluster:
       xpk_print(
-          f'{args.workload} is requesting {num_chips_in_workload} chips but'
-          f' the cluster {args.cluster} supports up to {max_chips_in_cluster}.'
-          '  Resize the cluster to support more chips with'
-          ' `xpk cluster create --autoprovisioning-max-chips=X ...`'
+          f"Chip Request Exceeds Limit: Workload '{args.workload}' requests "
+          f"{num_chips_in_workload} chips, but the autoprovisioning cluster "
+          f"'{args.cluster}' is configured for a maximum of {max_chips_in_cluster} chips."
       )
       return False
-    return True
+    return True # For autoprovisioning, chip count is sufficient.
 
-  # Check for device type
-  missing_device_type = False
-  device_type = system.device_type
-  if device_type not in cluster_config_map:
-    xpk_print(
-        f'Device Type Check: {args.workload} is requesting {device_type} but '
-        f'cluster only contains {cluster_config_map.keys()}. '
-    )
-    missing_device_type = True
+  # For statically-sized clusters, check if the number of requested VMs fits.
+  max_vm_in_cluster = int(cluster_config_map[user_facing_device_type])
+  if system.accelerator_type == AcceleratorType['GPU']:
+    vm_required_by_workload = args.num_nodes
+  else:
+    vm_required_by_workload = args.num_slices * system.vms_per_slice
 
-  if missing_device_type and missing_gke_accelerator_type:
+  if vm_required_by_workload > max_vm_in_cluster:
     xpk_print(
-        'Both Device Type and GKE Accelerator Type checks failed.'
-        f' XPK will not create the workload {args.workload}.'
+        f"VM Request Exceeds Capacity: Workload '{args.workload}' requests "
+        f"{vm_required_by_workload} VMs for {args.num_slices} slice(s) of type "
+        f"'{user_facing_device_type}', but the cluster only has "
+        f"{max_vm_in_cluster} VMs of that type available."
     )
     return False
-  else:
-    # Check if the size of the workload will fit in the cluster.
-    max_vm_in_cluster = int(cluster_config_map[device_type])
-    if system.accelerator_type == AcceleratorType['GPU']:
-      vm_required_by_workload = args.num_nodes
-    else:
-      vm_required_by_workload = args.num_slices * system.vms_per_slice
-    if vm_required_by_workload > max_vm_in_cluster:
-      xpk_print(
-          f'{args.workload} is requesting {args.num_slices} slice/slices of'
-          f' {device_type}, which is {vm_required_by_workload} VMs, but the'
-          f' cluster only contains {max_vm_in_cluster} VMs of {device_type}.'
-          ' XPK will not create this workload.'
-      )
-      return False
 
   return True