The present invention provides a heat dissipater for use on a circuit board. The invention includes a circuit board having components on at least one side, a rigid plate having thermal conductive properties, and a spring clip that couples said rigid plate to said circuit board and provides a retaining force against the rigid plate. Both the rigid plate and spring clip provide thermal paths to ambient for the circuit board, and in one embodiment, a heat sink or cold plate may be coupled to the rigid plate. Thermal interface material may be filled in between the rigid plate, circuit board and spring clip to provide an efficient thermal path to ambient. The rigid plate, spring clip, and thermal interface material may be electrically insulated.