Particular embodiments described herein provide for a thermal cooling system that is part of a device that includes a hole-in-motherboard configuration. The device can include a substrate, one or more dies on a top portion of the substrate, one or more printed circuit boards below the substrate, where the printed circuit boards are coupled to the substrate with solder balls, and one or more land side capacitors below the substrate. A thermal conducting plate, phase change material, and one or more sponge walls to help insulate the solder balls from the thermal conductive layer can be located in the hole of the hole-in-motherboard configuration and help transfer heat and thermal energy away from the device.