So i've found for many particle simulations Open GL debatably looks better and takes a tiny fraction of the time to render. However I can't figure out a way to make it the core renderer in the render viewport. I realize it's very similar to the look in the render view but for several reasons it would be nice to get it working in there. Is there a way to do that?

thanks in advance!

I don't think so. Even if you create an OpenGL ROP in the OUTput network it does not show up in the list under Render View.

Good to know, thanks for the heads up, Enivob!