Quick-connect thermal solution for computer hardware testing

A method of assembling a quick-connect system for cooling a heat-generating electronic device mounted to a first side of a circuit board, the method comprising:

• disposing the circuit board onto a first plate such that a second side of the circuit board faces the first plate;
• disposing a cooling module subassembly onto the circuit board such that the cooling module subassembly faces the first side of the circuit board, the cooling module subassembly including:
• a second plate having an opening,
• a third plate disposed within the opening and coupled to the second plate with a first suspension system, and
• a cooling module thermally coupled to the third plate and configured to dissipate heat transferred from the electronic device to the third plate;
• and
• coupling the cooling module subassembly to the first plate such that the third plate is disposed substantially flat against the electronic device.

A method of testing a processing unit disposed on a first side of a circuit board, the method comprising:

• assembling a quick-connect system with the circuit board, including the steps of:
• disposing a second side of the circuit board onto a support plate,
• disposing a cooling module subassembly onto the first side of the circuit board, and
• coupling the cooling module subassembly to the support plate such that an inner plate of the cooling module subassembly is disposed substantially flat against the processing unit;
• performance testing the processing unit, wherein a cooling module coupled to the inner plate dissipates heat generated by the processing unit during testing;
• and
• removing the quick-connect system, including the cooling module coupled to the cooling module subassembly, from the circuit board for re-use.