I dont think u want to do highend 3D production on a laptop, do u? Maybe start simple models and finish it big on a desktop. So of course u could use it, as long u don't expect it to replace your desktop machine.
And yes, u might run into window-update problems (GUI elecment that don't refresh properly), but sometimes this is fixed by trying out several GFX card driver versions from the hardware vender's website. The latest drivers are not always the best when using Maya.
I used to work for months with Maya on a NEC laptop when I was kinda homeless. Hard to bring a desktop in your backpack. Besides the ocasional window-update problem, it worked fine for me as a beginner.