does rocket dock hurt gaming performance

i'm a wetalded skvuid

It shouldn't change much (look in the task manager how much resources it needs) but AFAIK there are widgets available and when you have many widgets running (especially widgets like CPU and process monitors) it can slow the PC down.

Your RAM will take the biggest blow, depending on your settings it can chew away anything from 64 to 256mb RAM, possibly peaking at 512 but I doubt it. You didn't post your PC specs but 4GB RAM is pretty standard and most games don't utilize more than 2GB RAM so you should be good. The CPU requirements for Rocketdock is 500Mhz. (You should be good unless you're still on Windows 95)

I think it's safe to say Rocketdock will have next to zero impact when it comes to game performance, unless it has broken code, i.e. memory leaks etc. To be absolutely sure, download FRAPS or any other utility that let's my measure in-game FPS and see if there's a difference with the service on/off, also worth checking out is opening up the task manager and watch for any CPU spikes for the process.

Rocket Dock?

Fnar fnar...

I have an above average rig, I also use Rocket Dock/ Rainmeter. Didn't notice any hits when I play games on max settings while running both of those. So from my experience....no. But since you haven't said your specs, then it is hard to say. If you're mid-range you should be fine, if you're on a low-end. Save your pennies and upgrade. :P

I have been using it all this year without problems.