I am converting a Warco WM16 milling machine to CNC. Have got an old PC running LinuxCNC quite nicely and turning steppers, but haven't yet started the "tidy" wiring or fitted the steppers to the mill. I'm using an old VGA monitor for testing but will need to buy something smaller for the final build, as everything will be mounted on a custom stand. Ideally, I'd like to use a touch screen monitor to eliminate the mouse and keyboard as well but they seem quite expensive.

I was also looking at those Android epad/apad tablets on eBay which are half the price of a monitor. Having experimented with a Toshiba netbook and VNC over both WiFi and Ethernet, I don't think that a Tablet would give satisfactory results as a remote desktop. Some tablets have an HDMI port, but I assume that is ONLY for output? Or could it be used for INPUT too? The obvious concern is that something might fry if I were to use a converter lead to connect the PC VGA out to a Tablet HDMI. Or have I misunderstood?

So the main question is: which is better? A touch screen monitor OR a separate LCD, mouse and keyboard?

And the second question is: Can a tablet PC be used as a touch screen monitor WITHOUT using wifi or ethernet?