SRAM PG1130 11-42 to Shimano XT M8000 11-46

Hi! I am an enthusiastic but fat and lazy rider and I recently changed from a Stance with a 3×9 to a Meta TR with a 1×11 and, while I can pretty much get up everything I could before, I would like it to be a tiny bit easier on the aging knees so I am thinking of swapping out my PG1130 11-42t cassette on my NX drivetrain to the XT M8000 11-46t cassette.
I have read conflicting info on whether this is an easy change to make or not. Do any of you guys know? It sems to be about the only thing I can do without a massive overhaul to go 1×12 and I really don’t want to spend the money.
Any input would be much appreciated. Ta!

1130 is non-XD drive so should be a straight swap.

May need more links in the chain plus a bit of b-tension adjustment.

Why not fit a 30 or 28 tooth chain ring on the front?

Also consider a Sunrace cassette instead of Shimano, generally lighter & cheaper and work just as well.

I had thought that it should be as simple as a swap over, new links/chain and quick adjust but a few things I came across suggested it wouldn’t work. Odd. Probably salesmanship?
I wasn’t sure which would have the greater impact tbh, rear cassette or a 30t on the front. Maybe the 30t will be the next thing if this doesn’t have the impact.
I’ve heard a lot about Sunrace wearing quicker, not true?
Thanks for the input folks!

For bad knees I’ll throw Oval chain rings into the mix as well. Also held on the climbs of course.

Worked wonders on my knackered right knee. 🙂

I had was in a similar dilemma, albeit with 11-40 XT out back on a new bike. Was thinking about replacing it with a 11-46 but decided to drop down to a 30T chainring and wear the cassette and chain out before moving to a 11-46. I sometimes run out of gears on fast downhill runs but I can live with that.

Why run a dinner plate on the back when you can run a smaller chainring on the front?

Spiders are limited to 30T but Cinch can go down to 26T.

Only downside is fewer teeth = faster wear.