The focal track of high-performance rotating anodes withstands extreme temperatures, thermal shock, and thermal fatigue during the operation of X-ray tubes. Overloading the focal track manifests itself in undesirable operational instabilities and reduced X-ray output of the X-ray tube.In the present work a novel test system was developed to test stationary anodes, exhibiting WRe10 conversion layers with different microstructures, by applying pulsed electron beam loading. The samples were exposed to a maximum temperature of 2350 °C and showed surface damage features compared to rotating anodes. The measured reduction in X-ray output was up to 35% due to target damage while keeping consistent filtration and a 100 kV tube voltage.A columnar grain microstructure led to a significant increase in performance due to the early formation of stable and orientated crack networks. In contrast, pancake-shaped grains stacked parallel to the surface caused local overheating due to the formation of cracks parallel to the surface and the resulting local thermal isolation.