Ahh thank you for the reply! Sorry I derped out and forgot to mention the comp settings, 1920 x 1080p , 30fps, 1500 frames
I have turned off the physics factor on the particular layers though, so they are frozen; no new particles are being generated after the first second. I do have Gaussian blur on one of the particular layers to make the particle texture I am using seem more like a fog.
A render on Best Settings took me 3 hrs and 21 minutes
– Best Wishes, Shahruk