MBP 17" & Maya rendering

[Tezz]

I am currently in the market for a New Computer my living space is small and was considering the 17" MBP does anyone who runs maya know how well they render large scenes or do they freeze up? How large is the performance difference between the Mac Pro and the MBP? Also anyone aware of the speed and quality difference between the HDD and SSD? Additionally I was informed there are some problems with heat build up on the New 2011 MBP's is this correct or if I spend 8 or so hours waiting for a scene to render will I run into heat problems?

Normally I would consider a Mac Pro but due to my apartment size at the current time I would prefer somthing that can be store away.
Any advice would be welcome

thanks