CrossFire is ATI's version of SLi. Like SLi (Scalable Link Interface), it uses 2 video cards to render a 3D scene with output to one or more displays. The purpose of CrossFire is to increase the frame rate or visual quality (or both) in a 3D game or 3D application.

One of the obvious visual differences between crossfire and SLi is that crossfire requires a DVI "patch cable" to link the two cards together. While some communication between the cards is done over the PCI-E bus, most is done over the DVI cables. This sort of "patch cable" system was used in the older 3DFX SLI platform. nVidia's SLi uses a "SLi bridge" connector for communication and does not require the DVI loop/patch cables. Fart!