Should I use a docking station or an enclosure?

[locutus]

This is for a home computer. I'm going to have a drive with only data in it that will not be replaced unless it fails. So it will be there for a while. So I need a device to connect it to. Should I use an enclosure where the drive is inside a sealed case or a docking station where the drive stands on edge and is mostly exposed? The only possible differences I see involve heat and dust. If a drive is sealed inside a case it would heat up more than in a docking station but I'm using 5400 rpm drives - they're cheaper and will only store data so it's enough - so I don't think heat will be a real issue. A docking station will have more of a problem with dust. If you use a 2.5" drive, the slot for a 3.5" drive is covered by a piece of plastic. If you install a 3.5" drive, the slot where you put a 2.5" drive is left uncovered. This is based on the many pictures of docking stations I looked at on Amazon. So the 2.5" slot will end up with dust inside it. What do people usually do about this? I don't need to do any hot-swapping of drives either. So which should I use? Is there a difference in terms of lifespan between drives that lie flat in enclosures vs drives that stand on edge in enclosures vs drives in docking stations?

[rogfanther]

If it will stay connected, why not put it inside the computer ?

You could also buy an external usb hard disk, that is already closed and thus not suffers from the dust problem.