Column-view would be the fastest way to peruse your files if it weren't for the delay each time the finder generates the preview. Most of you know the trick of eliminating the preview-pane in column view. Just in case, here is a very brief refresher: open the file com.apple.finder.plist in your Preferences folder in a text editor. Find the following lines and set ShowPreview to false as shown:
<key>ShowPreview</key>Anyhow, the problem is that now you can't see the file size, type, version, etc. However, the Show Info window (Command-I) does all this. Even better, it will automatically update as you select different files.
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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20011110023000640