I'm developing a bit of a collection of AMD cards that I'd really like to put on display over my desk. While designing a stand however I started wondering if there was a safe way to run the RGB (and maybe even fans?) without needing to connect it to an actual computer.
First question: is it safe to put power to a GPU through just a PCIe slot (http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_PCI_Express_16x_PinOut.html) and the supplemental power with a custom built power supply? I'm not asking about the safety of the power supply, but the safety of a card with only power connected and nothing else
Second question: RGB lighting would probably be straight forward, but what if I wanted to put a potentiometer on the stand for controlling the GPU fans with? Is that just crazy to think of or does anyone know of a straight(ish) way of doing this?
