A cooling apparatus is disclosed, which may include multiple heat producing units. The cooling apparatus may also have a thermal interface material (TIM) to facilitate heat transfer away from the heat producing units. The cooling apparatus may also have multiple heat sink columns located above, and designed to conduct heat away from, corresponding heat producing units, through thermally conductive contact with corresponding portions of the TIM layer. The cooling apparatus may also have a load plate located above the heat sink columns, designed to hold the heat sink columns in a relatively fixed position above the heat producing units. The TIM layer may have an initial compressed state between the heat sink columns and the corresponding heat producing units. Each of the heat sink columns may be designed so that, in operation, the corresponding portion of the TIM layer may have a further compressed state.