The i5 has much higher clock speeds and is a generation newer with higher ipc. You're also assuming I bought the cpu only for that reason, it is not.
So no, not awkward at all.
I don't think we have the same definition of 'assume'.
I have an Intel G4400 in my router, using NordVPN on it but on my 500Mb connection it can easily use 60-70% of that CPU.
Is it really 'assumption' when someone specifically states CPU in router, VPN usage, connection speed to router and CPU utilisation of router? I mean you're the one specifically telling us what you have, what you use it for and what you got, it's only after it's pointed out that the only way those numbers add up is if you are doing things in software that normally get done in hardware, then you suddenly remember that something else is eating your CPU that you not only forgot to mention in the original reply, but also the follow up. That seems a little... well I wouldn't want to assume
The IPC uplift you mention was circa 1% from Sky Lake to Kaby Lake (and i'm being generous), they're both 14nm parts with essentially the same architecture, heck it was only 10% from Haswell to Kaby Lake. I used an an old G4400 as a router for a while on a 300Mbit connection, funny thing is I had it doing 2-3 site to site VPN's, PBR over a fourth tunnel and Suricata amongst other things as I was chasing the UTM dragon, I don't remember it 'easily' using 60-70% of the CPU. I had to do something amazingly stupid to do that, like trying to do 10Gb software switching (Tip: BAD IDEA) or software encryption on multiple VPN tunnels. If you're looking for an up-side, the i5 gives you twice the cores/threads and the clock speed up-lift, but again based on a connection twice as fast and using 6th-7th gen i3's (2c/2t) in my routers under UT/*Sense and recently *WRT, you'd certainly have to be doing something pretty amazing one way or another.
