The Latest Forum Topics widget in the forums is operating correctly, as it updates as soon as a new post is made in the forums.
On the front page, the updates lag behind approximately 5 minutes. This is because the front page and the forums aren't "bridged" (which is also why we have to log in twice.) Therefore, the widget on the front page gets its updates on a feed from the forums, which updates every 5 minutes.
So, for now, treat the links on the front page as a rough idea of what the hot topics in the forum are, whereas the links from the forums page are exactly the same as they were before the switch.